Every Direction
by Red-out
Summary: The Glee gang have continued onto New York. The girls need a new roommate for their appartment and Brittany fits the bill perfectly. There will be food fights, paintball fights, pillow fights, fist fights and more, all while Brittany and Santana try to keep their dirty little secret hidden. But it's going to be hard considering they can hardly keep their hands off each other...
1. New Roommate

**So the gang are all in New York, attending Juilliard, studying a range of things in the performing arts/music area. They still have Glee club but now do gigs and events for money. They are in their second year of university when a blond haired, blue eyes, brilliant dancer stumbles into their life. The rest is history. **

**I'm just gonna say straight up that this story is not about ripping out your heart and making you feel like crap after you've finished reading. There will be drama to make things interesting but I won't leave you hanging, a'ite? Cool.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee because it I did it would be called Brittana. They are so damn cute. That is all.**

Chapter 1- New Roommate

"God Santana, why do you have so much stuff?" Rachel complained as she lugged one of Santana's heavy bags up the stair case.

"Shut it, Berry." Santana snapped.

"My bags weren't nearly as heavy…" Rachel huffed.

"That's because the only thing you packed were knee high novelty socks in all the colours of the rainbow." Santana did jazz hands on 'rainbow' along with a sarcastic grin as her hands morphed into a one fingered salute.

"You're vulgar." Rachel sighed, used to the rude behaviour.

"Yeah well, get used to it. We _are_ going to be living with each other for a while. Oh, that reminds me," Santana spun round to face the other girl, stopping her in her tracks. Recite our agreement slash contract. Now."

Rachel sighed again and closed her eyes to try and remember what Santana had forced her to memorise. "Whilst living in the same apartment as Santana Lopez I must abide by the contract written by… Santana Lopez. Part one, there shall be no 'rumpy humpy' with Finn whilst Santana is in the same vicinity. Part one, subsection A, Santana obtains full rights to compare Finn to large marine animals on Tuesdays 5:30- 11:00 pm"

Rachel opened her eyes to see Santana nodding at her to continue.

"Part two, Never touch Santana's food. Ever."

"mm hmm" Santana nodded in agreement.

"Never touch Santana's alcohol unless I want 'aunty Snix to arrive on the bitch town express.'"

"You got that right girl, Aunty Snix gon' be hittin' you up if you so much as look at my tequila, ya hear?"

Rachel swallowed and continued. "Oh," Santana noticed Rachel's face fall when she it.

"Part three," Rachel said with a deep frown. "Never break out into song randomly, especially not Broadway." She whispered the last part.

Santana couldn't help but smile a little. "Berry, you really think I'm Satan's spawn don't you?" Santana watched her look up confused.

"I was just kidding about part three okay." Santana reached over to put an arm around Rachel's shoulders and bumped her playfully. "As much as I hate your dress sense, obnoxious personality and the general sound of you, I would never tell you not to sing."

Rachel smiled brightly and Santana was almost blinded. The teeth. Just…so many…so white.

"Maybe you and I could write a song together," Rachel blurted much to Santana's horror. "With my creative and original composition skills and our budding friendship I think-"

"Ima stop you right there," Santana spoke before gesturing at Rachel to continue lugging her bag up the stairs to their new apartment. "I tolerate you and your weird food fetishes-"

"I'm a vegan…"

"I tolerate your socks, I tolerate your impromptu performances that you and the manbaby you call your boyfriend feel the need to spring on all of us, I even tolerate your lengthy and completely useless moisturising triads, every damn night but I will not tolerate the fact that you just ask me to _write a song_ with you-_ so_ wanky, whilst insulting me by insinuating that I wouldn't be capable of contributing in the actual composition. I'm the music major here, Berry, me."

Santana wasn't really offended. She knew Rachel was obnoxious and ignorant all the time. She sometime liked to make her squirm though, for good measure.

"I understand I may have overstepped our friendship boundaries and I apologise." Rachel stammered. "You didn't hit me…" Rachel observed. "You've come a long way since high school. Even if it was only a year ago."  
"You haven't." Santana smirked as she pushed open the door to their new apartment. It wasn't only their apartment though. There was also Quinn, Tina, Mercedes and Sugar living with them. She used to share with Quinn and Tina but now they had all been pooled together in a much larger apartment. It was the first time she had been in her new apartment because she had been away in Puerto Rico with her family for the past four weeks. The moving had been done without her and she was very pleased she missed that shit show. Santana held the door open for a waddling Rachel and realised that it was kind of nice for her to come and pick her up from the airport. Maybe their friendship was progressing… The thought made Santana smile softly. She had been feeling a little lost and lonely lately but she would never admit that to anyone. No way.

"I'm back, bitches!" Santana hollered through the apartment and was rewarded with the sound of scuffling feet and girly shrieks as the other girls appeared in front of her like a stampede. Tina jumped into Santana's arms followed closely by the others. The only one to hold back a little was Quinn who was a little too grown up for those charades.

"Santana we missed you!" Tina shouted, follows by a chorus of "Hell yeah's" and "I missed my drinking buddy!" it was nice for Santana to know that they missed her cause she missed them, even the boys. They were all a pretty tight knit bunch considering they all worked together and all went to the same university- Juilliard, NYC.

When the girls released her, she stood back a little surveying them with a grin. "Okay then, house tour?"

Tina grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her forward from the doorway into the kitchen which smelt really good. Santana hadn't slept for around 24 hours and hadn't eaten in god knows how long. Tina quickly showed her round, pulling out a few draws here and there before moving onto the living room that was connected. All their couches from their old flat were there and she would have done a running jump dive onto her favourite big red one if hadn't been for Tina anchoring her to the spot. There was a small laundry room and also a bathroom as well as four bedrooms downstairs. Because Santana was the last to officially move in, she got last dibs on beds which meant she had one of the three bedrooms upstairs, according to Mercedes. Santana followed Mercedes up the stairs that connected to the living room and was pleasantly surprised to find there was also a bathroom upstairs.

"Which one's mine?" Santana asked with a yawn.

Mercedes walked to the door farthest away from the bathroom. "I know you hate being woken up by the sound of flushing toilets so I picked this one."

"Thanks wheezy," Santana smiled and walked past.

The girls had been nice enough to set up Santana's bed and even unpack most of her stuff and when she flopped down onto the bed out of pure exhaustion Mercedes chuckled and went to close the door.

"Mercedes wait," Santana mumbled, pushing hair out of her face. "There's seven bedrooms altogether but there's only six of us. I know we moved here to get more space but what's the point in having an extra room?"

"Actually, there's something I should tell you…" Mercedes bit her lip. "We're getting a new roommate."

"What!" Santana snapped her head up.

"Look, I know you find it hard to trust people enough for them to be your roommate but we need the extra person so we can make rent. This apartment was too good to give up. I haven't met her yet but Rachel said she's has great style and really good skin?"

"Oh God, it's Kurt! Our now roommate is Kurt!" Santana cried out, smacking her palm to her forehead.

Mercedes laughed and moved to sit on the side on Santana's king sized bed. "She's a dancer. She dances with Mike, they're in the same class. He says she's really funny and totally chilled. Look, I was weary too but even if you don't like her, there's still five other girls to hang out with."

"Four and a half." Santana corrected. "I'm giving Berry half because if we're being real, half the time I would rather talk to a street lamp than her and those ridiculous socks."

"When's she moving in?" Santana asked, curious despite herself.

"uhm…today."

"What! No way. Today? Oh that's such a shame that she has to witness me bitch slapping you all for being so inconsiderate. Rachel twice."

"Santana, relax. She has class right now but she'll be home later and we can meet her. All the other girls seem to really like her. She had an interview with them about two weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me? Called me or something?" Santana asked quietly.

"You were dealing with your own stuff over in Puerto Rico, you didn't need any more stress. How are you anyway? Did everything run smoothly?"

"Yeah the service was really nice. It still hurt though. It…hurts now. Mom was a wreck. Marco was her golden boy, you know?" She chuckled softly.

Mercedes looked and her sympathetically and rubbed her back. Santana lay her head down on the warm comforter and the darkness of sleep enveloped her in a peaceful bubble.

The smell of food was what woke Santana up. The sweet aroma of pancakes drifted into her nose and then vanished swiftly. She rolled over and picked up her phone from her bedside table. 7:23pm

She'd fallen asleep a little before mid-day and she was glad she had gotten a good seven hours at least. The Latina rubbed her eyes and slowly moved from the bed over to her dresser. She shoved on a pair of her favourite grey sweats and a tank top, grumpily eyeing the luggage that she knew she had to unpack at some point. She huffed and pulled her hair back into a pony tail, grateful that it her hair seemed to be obeying her for once. It was really weird waking up in a new place that was meant to be your home, padding down the steps that you'd only been up one so far. Santana silently assessed how difficult it would be to ascend the steps while drunk. Because that was defiantly a situation likely to occur more than three times week. Santana had been drinking a lot lately. She didn't know whether it was because she was lonely or grieving or what but it happened. She just felt sad. Really damn sad. Maybe depressed might be the better word. She was defiantly depressed when she had to bury her beautiful brother Marco. That had been the saddest day of her life. A ripping, shredding feeling cut away at her that entire day. Sometimes it was so bad she had to rush to the bathroom and retch into the toilet. She shivered as she made her way into the kitchen, rubbing at her tired face again.

Tina was in the kitchen cooking pancakes at the stove. Sugar was across the counter filing her nails and beside her was…

Santana stopped short. Stopped moving all together. A blond girl sat at the counter next to sugar and was aimlessly swivelling in her chair, back and forth, making sure not to take her eyes of Tina who was talking. Her blond hair was pulled up into a dishevelled pony tail and she was only in jeans and a massive hoddie but for some reason Santana's breath hitched a little. The girl was gorgeous, there was no doubt about it. Santana wondered how long until Puck tried to 'tap that'.

"Wait, so pancakes for dinner _are_ okay? The new girl asked with confusion.

"Sure," Tina replied with a shrug. "Did you know some people do this thing where they eat dinner for breakfast? They do it because breakfast is the most important meal of the day a having a dinner meal in the morning gives you loads of energy."

"No way!" the girl said, stunned.

Santana thought it was kind of cute the way her mouth was gapping and her eyes were lit up.

Tina noticed Santana entering the kitchen and smiled, "Hello sleeping Satan, nice dreams?"

"Make me a sandwich, bitch." Santana spat with a grin. "Better yet, make some fried rice."

"That's extraordinarily racist!" Tina roared, flicking a newly made pancake hard at Santana's head. The Latina caught it and started nibbling immediately. "I was born in Lima like you AND I'm adopted. Wow...I'm like, not even that Asian…" Tina mused, turning back to the stove.

She strolled over to the stool next to the new girl, ready to interrogate.

"Hi, I'm Brittany!" the blond girl smiled almost shyly. "You must be Santana?" she stuck out her hand and the Latina took it gently, noticing how soft it was. So soft she thought the girl must have picked up on some of Kurt's duck fat hand cream advice already.

"H-hi, yeah that's me." Santana spoke almost as shyly. Now she was close to Brittany she could see how blue her eyes were. They were so clear it was almost unnerving. They were crystal blue one second and then the light shifted, giving them a slight green tinge. Santana realised that she must have been staring too long because everyone was looking at her expectantly.

"Where is your room?" Santana asked

"Up top, just across from yours." The blond grinned displaying a mouth of perfect teeth.

"Cool, well I have some questions to ask you. You might technically live here already but there are some things you need to know and some things I need to know."

"Uh, okay" Brittany said, nodding her head.

"Tina, pass me a pen and paper." Santana spoke quickly.

"Santana, don't scare the poor girl." Tina frowned

"Hush, Tina. Your fried rice is burning." Santana smirked, taking the pen and paper from a glaring Tina.

"Awe, you love me." Santana said with a wink and Tina smiled back despite herself. Santana had that effect on people. She was extremely charismatic.

Santana began scribbling down a list.

**ROOMMATE REQUIREMENTS:**

**Must not smoke**

**Must not be a vegan**

**Must be able to mix a killer drink**

**Must have one special skill/talent**

**Must have own car**

**Music be musically talented in some shape or from**

**Must know how to play poker**

**Must not have pets**

Santana put the piece of paper in between them on the counter. "So how 'bout it? Do you smoke?"

"No, I tried it once and it tasted worse that the time I licked the exhaust pipe on uncle Kevin's motor cross bike" Brittany shook her head with a scrunched up nose. "Oh but I sometimes have cigars, they're okay."

Santana's eyes widened, she sometimes had cigars too. Claiming it helped with her singing voice.

"Interesting…" she pondered. "You're not a vegan are you? We already one too many of those."

"No, I have to eat lots meat for protein to keep high energy levels. What do vegans eat anyway? Like, grass or something?" Brittany asked.

"Actually there are many food choices it just means I have to be a little more creative, which is really no trouble for me." Rachel said as she entered the living room with the other girls in tow.

"What are you doing, Santana?" Quinn asked with and eyebrow raised. Damn that eye brow, Santana thought.

"Just making sure Brittany here fits the bill." Santana said with a shrug and turned back to the list. "Can you mix a killer drink? This one's important."

"Totally. It's got apple, cranberry and vodka with a few secret ingredients. I can show you tomorrow night."

"Wait, what's tomorrow?" Santana turned back to the other girls.

"We're having a paaaaaartaaaaaaay!" Sugar yelled with her hands raised.

"A sort of combined welcome and welcome home for you and Brittany." Tina added

"I'll look forward to that drink." Santana winked at the blond.

Hold up. Did she just wink? Jesus, she winked! At a girl she's known for all of seven minutes. What a dork.

Santana decided it was best to move on quickly and looked for the next point on the list.

"What's your special talent? It's gotta be good and it can't have anything to do with what you're studying."

"uhm…" Brittany racked her brains, thinking about her special talents. It wasn't about finding one, it was about deciding which one to show them. "I can beat box?"

"Really? Okay then, _Shaniqua, _lets hear it." Santana saw as everybody sit a little forward in their seats.

Brittany shrugged and bobbed her head a couple of times before unleashing a series of well timed, perfectly sounding beats. She picked up her pace and added little sounds here and there and it sounded impressive. She slowed to a stop when she realised everyone was staring at her with their mouths slightly open, even the Latina who seemed the hardest to impress.

Sugar let out a "whop, whop!" and everyone started clapping to Brittany who smiled sheepishly.

"Okay, so that was pretty good." The Latina smiled, "Next up, do you have your own car?"

"Santana!" Quinn warned

"What? We all know what happened when Mercedes went without a car for those couple months and I had to drive her everywhere. We hated each other. Too much time together, ya get me?"

"It's true," Mercedes confirmed "and that girl is one crazy ass driver. I swear Santana must mean 'road rage' in Spanish."

"I have my own car," Brittany interrupted.

"Perfect. Now, musically talented…I guess the beat boxing covered that already bu-"

"I can rap!" Brittany squeaked and Santana thought maybe she didn't mean to because her hand came up to cover her mouth. "Fudge…"

"I'm sorry but were you born in the Ghetto?" Santana asked with a laugh.

Brittany looked down at herself almost like she was checking that she was still a white girl.

"I guess I am pretty gangster." Brittany said as she crossed her arms and bobbed her head. Everybody laughed and Mercedes piped up, "Maybe you could teach me a few things, homegurl."

Brittany blushed a little and Santana thought it was without a doubt the cutest thing she had ever seen.

"So you gonna gets your rap on for us?" Santana asked.

"Well, I usually have to have a little alcohol in me before I do it…" she trailed off, looking pleadingly at Santana.

"Tomorrow night at the party then?" Santana asked

"yip!" Brittany agreed with an infectious grin.

"You know how to play poker?"

"Santana, you can't expect that from the girl! Poker is such a man's game." Rachel huffed

"Then why don't you play, Berry? You certainly have the hands for it." Santana couldn't help but say. "And poker is fucking cool, okay? And I need more poker buddies because Mercedes cheats, Quinn is BORING and Tina gets all mathematical about it and it puts me off my mojo. Sugar is only good 'cause she's loaded and doesn't understand that she shouldn't tell the rest of the players what cards she has."

"Asperger's." Sugar shrugged with a sigh.

"Actually, I do know how to play. My dad and lord Tubbington used to have poker nights every Thursday and sometimes they let me sit in to watch. That's when I had my cigars. I really liked watching but I just know that's when Lord Tubbington started getting addicted to smoking…"

"Adorable," Quinn and Tina said in unison.

"Wait, who's Lord Tubbington?" Santana asked, somehow knowing that this conversation was not headed in a good direction.

Brittany clasped her hands together and looked down at the list hard. "I do actually have a pet…Lord Tubbington…he's a cat."

"He's super cute and such a good listener!" Sugar said with a grin. "I'm taking him shopping tomorrow."

Brittany tried to grin because she really was glad LT was making friends but she couldn't be happy until Santana said it was okay.

"Is he here?" Santana asked quickly, scanning the kitchen and living room. As if on cue, the world's largest cat came waddling (much like Rachel) into the lounge.

"That's not a cat! _That_ is a small horse!" Santana said, eyes bulging. She spun in her chair to face Brittany who looked utterly depressed.

"More like a small unicorn…" she mumbled, feeling heartbroken that Santana seemed to hate her best companion.

Santana gazed at Brittany and then the girl pouted and her eyes dropped. She looked so torn up. Santana's heart clenched and in that moment she knew she would do her best to make sure the blue eyed blond sitting before her wasn't sad because someone like her was only meant to smile.

Santana got out of the chair and walked over to where Lord Tubbington was currently playing the role of living room rug. She sat down on the floor beside him and he opened his eyes to look up at her. "Hey Lord Tubbington," she pushed her fist to bump his and she heard a collective 'awe' from Tina, sugar and Quinn. "I think I might call you LT, if that's okay. Or maybe Load Tubs. Oh, I probably shouldn't call you that because Finn will get confused." She glanced up at Rachel who luckily didn't seem to hear, or didn't get it. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that if you would like to live here, that's cool but you better not shit in my room 'cause I will destroy you. No lie. I'm also going to insist that you go on a diet because something is seriously wrong if you look like you weigh more that your owner."

Santana looked up at Brittany who was grinning ear to ear. 'Yeah, making a dick of myself was worth it' she thought to herself.

Santana excused herself and made for the stairs.

"Who knew Santana Lopez was such a softie?" Mercedes questioned as Santana walked off to bed.

She was tired but she felt elated somehow. Brittany was different. Not bad different just…different. Santana would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't excited to learn more about Brittany. The party tomorrow would be the perfect opportunity. She stripped her sweats and tank top and dove under the covers, letting her tired body come to rest. Sleep came quickly and the last image Santana had was one of Brittany grinning from ear to ear, her eyes caught somewhere between green and blue.

**I wonder what will go down at that party….? Or PAAAAARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! As Sugar would say. I'm a self-diagnosed review whore so let me know what you think. **

**Chur. **


	2. Acceptance

**This update features Britt rapping! Now, this is how I suggest you read this. Listen to 'look at me now' by Chris Brown before she starts rapping, read her rapping then listen and read at the same time. Same with when the gang starts dancing to 'Starships' by Nicki Minaj. If you want the full effect, I'd do that. Hope the lyrics don't offend anyone!**

Chapter2- Acceptance.

The girls had briefly described Santana to me before. They said she was Hispanic and almost reluctantly they admitted she was pretty. When I saw Santana for the first time I choked on my spit a little because I was that stunned. She was _beautiful_. No, gorgeous. No, incredible. Actually, all of the above. She was wearing what I usually wear to dance, a tank top and sweats and she totally rocked the look. It helped that she a great body too. She obviously worked out or had the most amazing genetics ever. Her skin was tan and flawless, and her teeth were like, so perfect. But the best thing about her was her eyes. They were like deep brown pools of melted chocolate and I felt myself getting lost in them. At first her eyes had been a little cloudy and unfocused but the longer we talked the softer and more focused they became. The truth is I had never seen someone so beautiful. All the girls in the house were pretty. Very pretty, actually. And I would even go as far to say that Quinn was also gorgeous but Santana…she was something else.

She made this weird list of requirements and she seemed happy enough until I told her about Lord Tubbington. She wasn't too happy then. I was really torn because I already liked Santana and wanted to be her friend but Lord Tubbington is family. She took one look at me and her face softened. She went to sit next to the 'small horse' and gave him a fist bump. It was adorable. She went on to threaten him but it was okay because I knew it was her way of telling Lord Tubbington and I that she accepted us. Yay!

I didn't slept okay that night in my new room. It was different and I needed LT for a little comforting. But I did like it here in this new place. Just before a feel asleep, the image of Santana winking at me flittered through my mind.

Now I was getting ready for the party with Sugar. She occupied the third room upstairs and she had come into my room to help me get ready. "So remind me again who's gonna be here?" I asked

Sugar continued to put clips in my hair as she answered. "There's Kurt and Blain who are our token gay boys. Sam is our hottie surfer type. Artie is the team cripple-"

"Are you allowed to say that?" I questioned disbelievingly

"Sure, I can say what I like. And besides, Artie is totally cool about his situation and he can do clever tricks on his chair with wheels."

I nodded and she kept going, "Puck is our resident bad ass with a Mohawk to die for. Finn is a giant's baby and sort of the team leader. Mike is the guy that busts a move. You're in his class right?"

"Yeah, his dancing's insane. I swear he's made of water."

"Yeah, well, remember he's taken okay. I'm telling you for your own protection. Tina can go all crazy panda when she wants too."

"…Right…so who goes out with who in this new directions group?"

"Finn and Rachel are totes loved up and Tina and Mike are over loved up but apart from that, we're all single and ready to mingle! Whooop!"

"Wait, Santana doesn't have a boyfriend?" I don't know why I asked…it just sort of slipped from my thoughts out through my mouth.

"Nope. She used to have a thing with Puck but I think the flare was never there. She is a Latina woman and she needs passion!" Sugar said 'passion' in some sexy accent and I giggled.

"And she must really like you because I have never seen her take to someone so easily."

"Really?" I asked, unable to hide the happiness in my voice.

"Yup, usually she's really hard on people. She made me wear a blind fold for three days after I joined New Directions."

"Why?" I gasped

Sugar just shrugged, unfazed.

There was a light knock at the door and I saw through the mirror that Santana was standing at the doorway. I waved into the mirror and smiled. She smiled back at me and walked into my room, surveying the walls. I'd spent most of yesterday afternoon and all of today unpacking so my room was complete. I'd even put some pictures and posters on the walls.

"Back from class a little early today?" Sugar asked

"Yeah, Miss Holiday let us out early cause it's a Friday…" she trailed off, glancing at all the pictures around my room.

"Miss Holiday sounds awesome!" I said with a confirming nod

"She is. She's like the cool older sister we never had." Santana agreed

"What classes do you take, Santana?" I already knew that Sugar did stuff in the drama department with costume and make up and Artie did some sort of directing stuff but that was the extent of my knowledge.

"I'm a music major as well as drama. It all falls under performing arts. But basically I sing and act. Well, I want to anyway."

"All done!" Sugar squeaked as she put the hairspray down on my desk top.

"Thanks Sugar." I grinned at her.

"Yeah good job, it looks nice." Santana added

Sugar bounded out of the room singing, "I GOTTA FEELING, WHOOOOHOOO, THAT TONIGHT'S GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT!"

Santana rolled her eyes, "If anyone asks, we don't know her."

"I think she's sweet," I smiled. "Sweet like sugar."

"A-huh, now that's where you're wrong. Really, she's a little devil. Just you wait until you're shopping together and you both grab those much desired pair of shoes at the same time. She'll go all 127 hours on your arm, I guarantee you."

I laughed as an image of Sugar trying to rip shoes out of my grasp popped into my head. The image got disturbing when little Sugar whipped out a pocket knife… I shook my head and focused back in on Santana.

"What classes are _you_ doing?" she asked me.

"Dance major and some papers on human anatomy and physics."

Santana nodded her head thoughtfully. "So you were in Mikes dance class last year too? I wonder why he never bought you round for drinks or dinner. You already fit in so well here."

I smiled at the semi-compliment and wondered how to say this without sounding arrogant. "Actually, this is my first year at Juilliard. I'm in Mike's class because I got put up into senior classes." I shrugged as if it was no big deal, when really, it was.

"So you're a junior, but in a senior class…at _Juilliard_? You must be good. Like, really good." Santana said with raised eyebrows, almost questioning.

I shrugged, "I'm okay."

"Mike always talks about how tough it was to get into Juilliard for dance. He said he was lucky he had the special compensation of 'new directions' to push him through… I can't wait to see you dance. You better not disappoint. I have high expectations for you now." She said with a sly smile

"No pressure!" I leaned over and poked her in the ribs. She gasped and pushed my shoulder lightly.

"Watch yourself there Britt," she grinned "So now I'm waiting for your killer drink, mad rapping skills and amazing dancing. I'm beginning to think you really are from the hood."

"Well I for one can't wait to hear _you_ sing," I said with my lips pulled up in a smile. The fact that she had just called me 'Britt' forced my smile wider.

"I got them mad singing skills, yo." She winked at me. "Unfortunately, everybody else here is pretty dope too. Even Berry. Especially Berry. It's tough competition."

"When will I get to hear you?" I asked.

"Probably tonight. A good song will come on and a performance will go down. Everybody gets really into it, especially with a little booze in them. Well, that's how things usually go anyway."

I think she thought I was asking about the group as a whole…that is probably what I should have been asking but I was super excited to hear Santana sing by herself.

"I can't wait!" I said genuinely. Santana looked up at me through her long lashes and smiled. Damn, the girl was stunning. She opened her mouth to say something further when a burst of deep voices and laughter floated up the stairs.

"Come on," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me from my room. "Let's go introduce you to the boys."

I was a nervous. I mean, these boys were probably going to just as much a part of my life now as the girls and it was important that they liked me. But the feeling of Santana's hand in my own soothed me and calmed me down. I felt her thumb run delicately across my knuckles and looked up to find we were in the large expanse of the living room. Large boyish bodies staggered around. Santana dropped my hand to hug a guy that had lumbered over as soon as he saw her. Her pulled her into a tight embrace and whispered something in her ear. Santana nodded slightly and smiled sadly. As soon as she stepped out of his embrace, she moved towards the group of guys that had just noticed her and were moving towards her with small smiles. Every single guy wrapped her up in a massive bear hug and squeezed her hand as the next engulfed her.

It all very much looked like a sad, sad reunion and I was at a complete loss to know why.

"Am I missing something here?" I asked Quinn who had moved to stand beside me.

Quinn followed my line of sight to where Mike had Santana's hands in his own while she talked and occasionally lifted his hand to rub her upper arm.

Quinn looked like she was internally debating something before turning to me and lowering her voice.

"The reason Santana has been away in Puerto Rico was because her big brother was killed."

It felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. Hard.

"That's horrible." I murmured with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it is. They were close. I think Santana depended on him a whole lot. I think she's lost without him." Quinn murmured back, more to herself than me.

"How was he killed?"

"He was a cop and was killed during a drug raid that went wrong. He lived in Puerto Rico so it was pretty dangerous to be a cop there in the first place."

"When?" I asked simply

"About four weeks ago. She flew straight over with her parents."

"She seems to be holding up pretty well." I said, tilting my head to the side while I watched her.

"That's Santana though. She keeps it all on the inside, all bottled up." Quinn looked up at me and realised maybe she had divulged too much information. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Sam."

Sam was so nice. I kept getting distracted by his beautiful blond locks though. And his lips. I wondered if he could fit his fist in his mouth. Or possibly a small animal? He did a lot of impressions and I laughed at all of them. He was actually really good in a weird way and overall I found him to be a really nice guy. A large and dopy looking boy joined us and introduced himself as Finn. He seemed really nice too but not as funny or interesting as Sam. He was oddly large and gangly…I kind of wanted to hit him to see how slow his reflexes were. Santana called me over to the kitchen counter which had been made into a temporary bar.

"Britt, I wants to get my drink on." Santana smiled at me shyly. "Can you make your killer drink?"

I wasn't sure if I should say anything about her brother. Hell, I didn't even know if that was supposed to be top secret information or what. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was. I wanted to tell her that the worst things seem to happen to the best people but now didn't seem like the time or place. Her smile faltered as she waited for my answer.

"uh- sure, of course." I decided that for now I would leave the heavy stuff, and have some fun. But above all, I was going to make this girl laugh. "You ready to taste liquid awesome?"

"Britt, do you realise how dirty that sounds?" she gazed at me with a smirk.

"Whahh?" I frowned, *click. "Oh, gross, Santana, get your mind out of the gutter!" I spluttered, making my way to the drinks and mixers.

"I'm just playin'" she laughed. "Seriously though, don't say that around Puck, he'll use that gold material for bad purposes I assure you."

I got two cups and started pouring in the juice that I needed while Santana watched. "Puck's the bad boy, right?" I asked, still focusing on the drinks.  
"Yup, crazy Mo'Fo' too. Well, he was in high school. He's toned down a bit now."

"Which one?" I asked scanning the room

"He's by the stereo, the one that looks like a ferret up and died on his head." she sniggered.

I nodded and finished off the drinks and handing one red cup to Santana.

"You into bad boys, Britt?" she asked. She was smirking but I could tell there was genuine curiosity there too.

"I don't really have a type. I like who I like," I shrugged. "But bad asses are kind of hot, sure."

This time is was her time to nod. "What about you?" I asked, taking a sip of my drink. I was silently thankful that it tasted good. I didn't want Santana thinking I didn't know my way around alcohol.

"I like who I like." She said, mimicking my previous statement. She took a sip and her eyes went wide. "Wow, this is really good." She praised, taking another sip. "Is there anything you can't do well?"

"I can't cook. At all. I once stuffed up two minute noddle's…"

"How?" she asked with a confused face.

"Forgot the water," I shrugged. Santana laughed at that.

"But you literally only need the noddle's and the water." She laughed again. It was nice her laugh. It was sort of like a song in itself. And it was nice that she wasn't laughing at me either. She was laughing with me. Almost everybody I have ever met has laughed at me in a nasty way. It's not a good feeling.

"I know, I know!" I said rolling my eyes playfully, "Maybe if you teach me how to cook some stuff, I'll teach you how to make that drink."

"I just watched you make this drink." She chuckled

"Okay, what's in it?"

"Uh…" she said, scrunching her face up.

"Exactly." I said, placing my hand on my hip.

"Okay, smartass, I'll teach you how to cook." She tried to look annoyed but she was smiling too much to pull it off.

"Ah so you must be the famous Brittany?" a high voice came from behind Santana. I looked up to see two boys nearing the kitchen. The one that had spoken was wearing what looked to be a small bear. There was fur all over him and all I wanted to do was hug him. Hug the little bear cub. The second had a tight black polo shirt with an electric blue bow tie.

"I don't think I'm the_ famous_, 'famous Brittany'. Actually I don't think I'm famous at all." I shrugged.

The bear cub halted for a second before a smile tugged at his lips. "Well, I'm not famous yet either so I guess we're in the same boat. I'm Kurt and this is Blaine, my boyfriend." He was silent for a second, seeming to gauge my reaction.

"Awesome," I grinned "You're Bow tie is totally unicorn and you look like a bear cub. I cute bear cub." I finished with a dazzling smile.

"Oh wow, where did you find her? She's adorable." Kurt cooed.

"I know, right." Santana said before looking alarmed at what she had said and sitting up in her seat quickly, coughing. Kurt looked sideways at Santana briefly before I chose to quickly change the subject.

"So you all went to high school together?"

"Yeah, Mckinley High in Lima Ohio." Blaine confirmed.

"No way! My grandparents live in Lima," I grinned. "I lived there too when I was younger but my parents sent me to boarding school out of state."

"What's this I hear about all-girls boarding school?" Mohawk guy asked as he slid into the seat next to Santana. She merely rolled her eyes.

"I didn't say it was and an all-girls boarding school." I said defensively.

"So it was Co-ed?"

"Oh, no, it was all-girls…" I muttered, feeling stupid for commenting.

Puck clapped his hands in the air, "Knew it! So got any stories to share?" he asked, wiggling his eye brows

"Sure," I smirked at him, an air of confidence settling around me. I'd give him a story alright. I wondered how creative I was feeling today. "This one time, the matrons at the boarding school decided to leave to go to dinner for the night so all the girls gathered in one room to have a slumber party…" I could almost see Pucks ears prick up at this.

"It was winter, and snowing but we weren't cold because we had massive heaters all around the room. We were having loads of fun. Someone brought out the tequila and we did body shots. My favourite." I winked at Puck and his jaw fell open.

"It got really late be we didn't care, we were having too much fun. But then the power cut out. All the lights and heating, gone. We weren't worried though because there was a back-up generator but when we tried to open the door we found that it had locked itself from the outside…"

I saw Puck lean forward in his seat, Santana seemed intrigued too. Kurt winked at Blaine knowingly.

"We tried to stay warm with the blankets but in the end the cold got too much for us. There was only one thing we could do to keep ourselves warm."

"W-whaat?" Puck asked

"We had to strip and use our body heat to keep ourselves warm. Skin to skin contact was the only way. In the end it was a hot sweaty mess of twenty teenage girls. We got through it because we were pressed so close together. Like I said, skin on skin."

Puck had wide eyes by the end of the story but Santana had picked up on the joke.

"R-really?" Puck asked in an awe filled voice.

I leaned down towards him so our faces were fairly close.

"No." I told him bluntly. Kurt, Blaine and Santana burst out laughing and Puck took a few seconds to catch on.

"Hey no fair!" he shouted.

"That's what you get, Puckerman." Santana patted him on the back lovingly.

"Body shots _are_ my favourite though." I assured him with a sly smile. I wasn't flirting, just messing with him a little and he knew it.

"Well played, Blondie, well played." He grabbed a beer and walked towards Mike and Tina, laughing as he went. Santana held her hand up and I hit it with my own.

"I like her, I like her, I like her!" Kurt clapped looking at me and jumping up and down.

"Calm down, Yoggie." Santana said, pulling him into the seat Puck had left vacant.

I made drinks for Blaine and bear cub who both approved. I also met Artie who was a sweetheart and totally reckless in his wheel chair. He's all sorts of awesome. The night went on and I talked to almost everyone again. Conversations ranged from 'star wars' with Sam and Artie to 'why is coke brown?' with Sugar to 'Broadway is a forgotten art' with Rachel to 'how much Kurt resembles a bear in his get up' with Santana. The last conversation was my favourite.

I was having so much fun and everyone was so cool. I was glad that it was like this. I really felt at home. I felt like everyone here was a family. I wanted to be a part of that family but I also knew that I had to be 100% accepted first. I knew what I had to do. Rap.

"It's dancing time!" Tina yelled as Mike turned up the music and Puck helped him push a large red couch away to make a dance floor. Tina giggled to herself as Mike scooped her up into his arms and spun her round. They were a really cute couple. I smile as I watched them goof off. Someone nudged me lightly from behind. It was Santana and she was holding out her hand. I took it and she lead me to a big red couch. We both sat down with a huff.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." She told me, looking around to make sure nobody could hear. "This one's the most comfy." She bounced up and down a little to prove her point.

I giggled and bounced a couple times too.

"This is my couch. I owns this couch. Usually I don't let anyone else on here."

"But you're letting me?" I asked curiously

"Yup. You can now officially sit on my couch whenever you please. mi sofá es tu sofá. My couch is your couch." She smiled at me, her eyes crinkling at the sides.

I couldn't help but think he was talking about more than a couch.

"Thanks, San. That means a lot." I smiled back, mustering all the warmth I possibly could.

"San…I like it." she nodded in approval. "Better than 'Satan' anyway." she said glaring towards Tina. The music was slowly being turned up and everybody had migrated to the living room. Mercedes was sitting on the couch arm by Santana, Kurt, Blaine and Sugar took up another couch, as well as Finn, Sam and Puck crammed awkwardly on another. The rest were scattered around on bean bags and on the floor. I was mildly confused as to what was happening.

"Show time," Santana whispered as Rachel appeared with what looked to be two cordless microphones.

"Brittany!" Rachel sang, holding out her hand. "Heard you wanted to rap? Show us what you got!"

I looked to Mercedes and Santana who nodded encouragingly. "It's your time to shine, girl." Mercedes grinned.

"Up to, Eminem." Santana smiled devilishly, hitting my ass when I went to stand.

Everyone was 'whooping' when I took the make shift stage and went to the IPod. The howling died down in anticipation of my song choice only to start up again five times worse when the first few bars played.

Puck pumped his fist in the air, "This is my JAM!"

I saw Mercedes and Santana look at each other with wide eyes. "I think Britt must be your long lost cousin!" Santana laughed to Mercedes.

"Girl's got swag." Mercedes agreed, bobbing her head.

"Actually, Mercedes," I grinned. "Can you help me out with the intro? And Puck too."

Puck was at my side with a mic in one second flat.

Mercedes grinned so wide I thought her cheeks might break. She jumped up to stand with me and instantly joined in with the song, moving her hands up and down to the beat.

"Yellow model chick, Yellow bottle sipping, Yellow Lamborghini, Yellow top missing, Yeah yeah. That shit look like a toupee. I get what you get in 10 years, in two days.." Mercedes rapped confidently, everyone yelled and wolf whistled at the last bit. Puck then picked up where Mercedes left off.

"Ladies love me, I'm on my cool J, If you get what I get what would you say. She wax it all off, Mr Miyagi. And them suicide doors, Hari Kari." Puck winked at me.

Everyone joined in the chorus singing- "Look at me now, look at me now, Oh, I'm getting paper .Look at me now, Oh, look at me now, Yeah, fresh than a muthafucker!"

I nodded at Puck to take over the next verse because I if I didn't have a dick, I didn't really wanna be singing about one. Puck, ever the entertainer, swiped Mikes cap and shoved it on his head backwards as he rapped before us.

"Lil n-gga bigger than gorilla, Cause I'm killing every nigga that, Try to be on my shit. Better cuff your chick if you with her, I can get her, And she accidentally slip fall on my dick. Ooops, I said on my dick. I ain't really mean to say on my dick. But since we talking about my dick. All of you haters say hi to it. I'm Done!" Puck rocked his pelvis forward suggestively and was rewarded with cheers from the girls and even the guys.

He looked at me and spread his arms, challenging me. Defying me to beat him.

I did my best to gangster walk over to him and held out my hand for him to shake, as a display of 'good sportsman ship'. He smirked, looking like the cat that got the cream as he reached out to take my hand. At the last second I pulled my hand back and used it to snatch the hat from his head before he could protest, leaving him hanging. Everyone laughed and hooted. Puck looked a little stunned. I felt myself grin as I pulled the hat on backwards like Puck and prepared to rap my heart out. I sucked in a deep breath and went for it.

"Ayo Breezy, Let me show you how to keep the dice rolling…When you're doing that thing over there, homie." I scoffed at him, flicking my fingers at his shocked face.  
"Lets go!" I yelled and there was a roar of approval, the crowd obviously approving my change of character. I bobbed my head in beat as I rapped quickly-  
"Cause I feel like I'm running And I'm feeling like I gotta get away, get away, get away.  
Better know that I don't and I won't ever stop cause  
You know I gotta win everyday day, goooo!" I rolled my hips and there was another uproar from everyone.  
"See they don't really wanna pop me  
Just know that you never flop me." I did a pop and lock and mentally prepared myself for the bit coming up next.  
And I know that I can be a little cocky, nooo  
You aint never gonna stop me." I lifted my head for a second and caught Santana's gaze. She was grinning as me so big I saw that she actually had dimples. She was _so_ gorgeous. I winked at her before blasting into the hardest part yet.

"Every time I come a nigga gotta set it then I got it going  
Then I get it, than I blow, than I shudder every little thing  
That he be doing cause it doesn't matter cause I'm gonna dadadadada" Everyone screamed and spurred me on, even Puck who knew he had clearly lost this battle.

"Then I'm gonna murder everything and anything a badaboom a badabing  
I gotta do a lot of things, and make it clearer to a couple niggas  
That I'm always winning and I gotta get it again and again and again!" I clutched my chest as I pretended to dramatically gulp a mouthful of air.

"I be doing it to death and now I move a little foul  
A nigga better call a ref, everybody know my style  
And everybody know I'm the the best  
When I come to doing this and I'm banging on my chest." I pounded my chest like a gorilla and was rewarded with deep 'ooh, ooh, ooh's' from the boys.  
"And I bang in the east and I'm banging in the west." I did a pelvic thrust to the right as I said 'east' and a pelvic thrust to left as I said 'west', much to the delight of my little audience.

"And I come to give you more and I never give you less  
You will hear it in the street or you can read it in the press.  
Do you really wanna know whats next?" I panted.

"Lets go!" Santana and Mercedes screamed jumping up and down in their seats.

"See the way we on, we be all up in the race and you know  
We gotta go, don't try to keep up with the pace  
We struggling and hustling and sending in and getting in  
And always gotta take it to another place  
Gotta taste it, then I gotta grab it,  
And I gotta cut all through this traffic."  
Just to be at the top of the throne  
Better know I gotta have it!"

When the chorus finally started I really was panting but it was so worth it to see the looks on everyone's face. Most were in complete shock at what I had done which I loved. I loved to surprise people like that. Santana was bellowing with laughter as she bolted into me and wrapped me in a tight hug. Her warm body was everywhere and for a second I completely forgot about where we were, who was with us, even the loud bass thudding through the speakers. She pulled back and I instantly missed the warmth.

"That was amazing!" she gushed and I couldn't contain the lopsided grin that spread across me face.

"Like I said, girl's got swag." Mercedes laughed and she pulled the cap around to face the front and tugged it down over my eyes.

Others joined us on the stage and we started dancing to the remainder of the song. Mike and I did some dougie moves and taught the others how to as well. I was in the middle of teaching a very confused Finn when Puck strode up.

"I'll be the first to say, that was totally hot." Puck said, staring pointedly at me.

"Mo-dork man," Santana snapped from behind me, clicking her fingers in his face. "You see this?" she asked, hovering her hands over my body and moving them round to signify…well, me.

"Oh yeah, I see." Puck said, licking his lips.

"This is a no-go zone, Puckerman. Mkay? NO. GO. mantenerse alejado, el hombre puta." Santana said sharply. And as if the Spanish had sealed the deal, she stalked away, towing me with her.

"You speak Spanish." I said in awe. Santana's Spanish voice was velvety and sharp at the same time.

She shrugged and leaned into me a bit so I could hear her over the music. "I grew up with Spanish. It was actually my first language."

"Wow. You're very surprising." I assured her

"Actually, I think _you_ are the more surprising one here." She smiled and looked at me for a second. Just looked.

"Oh, I love this song!" I shouted when I recognised the opening guitar. I sprinted to the stereo and turned it up just as the bass kicked in. I started dancing, beckoning for Santana to join me. She bit her lip and joined me rather shyly. Along with Santana, the others joined and soon the 'Dance floor' was a moving thriving mess of bodies, pulsing with each beat. The lights flicked off and out of instinct I grabbed out for someone. My hands landed on Santana's wrists and she seemed to sense that I was feeling uncomfortable with the dark.

"It's okay." She told me close to me ear. "They're setting up the strobe light." Not a second later a big blue light started flashing through the living room. I felt myself grin whole heartedly. I loved Strobe lights. They made the world seem like it was going super slow and super-fast at the same time. I realised I was still holding Santana's wrists and dropped them gently. When I did this is seemed like the rest of the room came back into focus and I noticed that everyone had started to sing. But not singing like the people at parties usually did. This singing was pitch perfect. It was incredible. I gazed around at all the laughing faces and for a moment I just stood and listened.

"I'm on the floor, floor  
I love to dance!" Rachel blasted out and pointed to Tina who sang the next line.  
"So give me more, more, till I can't stand." Tina grinned  
"Get on the floor, floor  
Like it's your last chance..." Quinn sang beautifully, nodding her head at Santana to continue.  
"If you want more, more.  
Then here I am." Santana sang out. I felt my heart take one thick beat that seemed to last forever when I heard her. Her voice was unlike anything I had ever heard. So raspy, husky and rough but silky smooth at the same time. She was staring straight at me when she sang and her brown eyes were so soft and genuine. She grabbed my hands and pulled me into the centre of the dance floor as the chorus thudded through the speaker.

"Starships were meant to fly  
Hands up, and touch the sky." Everyone sang, putting their hands in the air as they moved their bodies to the beat.  
"Can't stop, 'cause we're so high  
Let's do this one more time." I started pumping my fist in the air along with Mike and soon we were a mass of jumping bodies.

"Starships were meant to fly  
Hands up, and touch the sky  
Let's do this one last time  
Can't stop…" I pulled Santana a fraction closer and watched in complete awe as the strobe light made her look detached and out of sync. Her grin taking on a whole new dimension.

"We higher than a muthafucka!" the song thumped through the room.

Everyone danced for the rest of the song, a dance circle was made and Mike and I made full use of the strobe effect. Everyone was a little tipsy so everything was just a little bit funnier and cooler. I kept seeking out Santana. I didn't even know why. I just did it. The night dragged on and one by one the guys and girls either disappeared or passed out on the couches. Sam even slept on the floor rather than the Santana's big red couch.

I felt my eyes drooping and decided it was probably time for bed. I walked up to the kitchen counter where Santana and Mercedes were both talking.

"I'm going to bed now so good night." I smiled and waved at them. "It was a great party."

"Hold up!" Mercedes said as she made her way over to me. When she finally got to me she pulled me into a big hug. One of the sweetest hugs I've ever had. She pulled back and looked me in the eye.

"I am so glad you're our new roommate." She told me sincerely.

I almost didn't know what to say. It was possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me.

"Wow." I grinned. "Thank you so much. We're totally gonna be like sisters."

"Oh you know it, girl. Sisters. Now get your ass to bed."

"I'm going to bed now too." Santana said, making her way to the stairs.

I gave Mercedes one final wave before spinning on my heel to join Santana. When we reached upstairs Santana turned to me.

"Everybody loves you, ya know."

"That's cool! Cause I love everybody too."

"Cool," she said with a nod. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled sweetly at me and then opened the door to her room. I opened mine too and quickly slipped out of my skirt and into shorts and a tank top. I had just climbed under the covers when I heard my door creak open.

"Britt?" Santana whispered into the darkness. My heart leapt in my chest.

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"Puck and Finn have passed out on my bed. C-can I bunk with you tonight?" she seemed so shy and unsure.

"Ofcourse you can. Get in here." I held open the covers for her. She was already in shorts and a T-shirt so I figured she must have got changed in her room. I was glad I had a double bed so there was enough of room for us both.

"Finn and Puck are curled up next to each other almost spooning. I took roughly twenty pics of them to use for bribing purposed in the near future." She whispered as she got in the bed.

"Excellent." I whispered.

Her body was next to mine, almost touching and I could feel the heat waves rolling off her.

"I'm really glad you're my new roommate." I said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Yeah, me too." she mumbled, verging on sleep.

Was now the time? I thought to myself. I really wanted to say it. I wanted her to know I was there for her even if we had only just met. I decided to go for it…

"San, I'm so sorry about your brother." I whispered so low I wondered if she could have heard me. I slowly moved my hand across the sheet and wrapped hers in mine. After a few seconds of stillness I wondered if she really had fallen asleep but then her hand shifted and she interlinked our fingers. Her hands were soft and so warm and I felt like I never wanted to let go.

"Thanks, Britt Britt." She whispered.

We feel asleep like that. Holding hands. Sharing something I couldn't quite explain. It was the best I had slept in a long time.

No, it was the best i had slept, ever.

**Songs- look at me now by Chris Brown**

**Starships- Nicki Minaj**

**Reviews motivate me to write so please review if you like it. They make my day. **

**Also, sorry for any mistakes!**


	3. take it out on the bag

**I love watching Heather Morris beat boxing and it gave me the idea for a more gangster/swag Brittany so that'll be coming out a bit more soon. **

Chapter 3: Take it out on the bag

"Hey kiddo." Ronnie grinned at Santana

Santana grinned back without a second thought. Ronnie was like her second dad and she could honestly say she loved him like family. Ronnie owned the boxing gym Santana worked at and had always treated her with kindness and equality to the male workers, she admired that about him. Santana had just walked in to start her morning shift and was feeling monumentally tired. The party the night before had completely taken it out of her and she was feeling slightly confused with everything that had happened with Brittany. She and Britt obviously had some sort of bond but she couldn't for the live of her work out why. They were opposite for starters but she had never clicked with some like that…apart from her brother. This morning she had woken up with her fingers interlinked with Britt's. It felt so nice to wake up with someone holding on to her like they never wanted to let go. It felt nice to know she was needed. Even just for a second. The sight of Britt's warm hand in hers was comforting beyond words. She lay looking at their connected hands for ten minutes before she gently slipped her hand from the blonds and snuck off to work. Thankful it was only around the corner.

"Who have I got today?" Santana asked

"Gary," Ronnie said, jerking his thumb towards the fat man sitting in the corner.

"Great." Santana rolled her eyes.

Santana walked over to the guy she was supposed to personally train for the morning and chucked boxing gloves at his face. "Get up, sloth. You're about to enter a world of pain." She grinned devilishly.

After a couple of hours and three trips to the vomit bin, Gary was absolutely spent. Santana Lopez was known for being ruthless in the gym but he could not have prepared for what that woman did to him. She sure knew how to yell.

Santana had a light coat of sweat on her back when she finished up torturing Gary and she knew she would have to have another work out on top of the one she had just had with captain chunky. Not that she minded. She loved spending time letting her anger seep through her and taking in out on the bag. It felt good and it helped her. Well, she thought it helped her anyway.

"Alright, _Lardo_, we're done here. Make sure to stick a 'wide load' sticker on your caboose as you commute through the crowded streets of New York on your way home." She smiled sweetly at him. She would have been nicer if he hadn't been such a baby throughout the entire work out. But it seemed however nasty she was, the men kept coming back for more. She guessed it was because of the fact that she only wore a sports bra and shorts when she had a work out.

"Ronnie, I'm off the clock." She yelled towards Ronnie's office before dashing to grab her IPod from the staff room and running towards one of the big red bags that hung everywhere around the gym. She picked the usual song and turned it up before strapping on her boxing gloves.

She loved the sound of the sound of the banjo in the first few bars and used this time to shake out her arms. Ready to unleash herself on the bag. The heavy guitar played loud into her ears and she matched her punches to the rhythm. Loving the feeling of her muscles rippling all the way up her arm with the impact.

'woah black Betty, bam balam.'

_SMACK_

'Yeah black Betty, bam balam'

_TWACK_

'Black Betty had a child'

_BANG_

'Damn thing gone wild'

_SMASH_

The red punching bag swung around with the impact of each punch but that only caused Santana to go harder. She threw every punch she knew. She threw jabs, cross punches, right hooks, left hooks, upper cuts. Anything and everything she had. She did it hard and fast while 'black Betty repeated over and over on her IPod. Soon enough her muscles were screaming at her to stop. The pain and fatigue swelled through her body but she refused to give in. Because if she felt the physical pain, she couldn't feel the mental pain, right? Santana pummelled the bag until she knew that sooner rather than later _she_ was going to have to make a trip to a vomit bin.

A large gruff hand griped her shoulder and she cried out in surprise.

"Enough for today, Kiddo." Ronnie told her firmly.

"Y-yeah, okay." Santana said with her head bowed. It was only then that she realised thick tears were streaming down her face. She sped off towards the staff room to grab her things before Ronnie or any of her work mates could see she was crying. She pulled her large 'NYC' hoddie over her head roughly and bolted for the door, wiping her tears away as she went. She had nearly reached the exit when the large brick wall that was Ronnie, blocked her path.

"Santana," he said gently.

Damn it, he used her proper name. He meant business.

Santana forced herself to look up into the eyes of the large man but refused to speak, not trusting her voice.

"I know you're grieving and trying to take it out on the bag but there are other ways to grieve. Don't limit yourself to this," he said, throwing a few fake punches to emphasise. "Because it just might not be enough. I know how much you loved your brother and I know how much you must be hurting and I'm worried for you, kid." Ronnie nodded honestly. "You're a fighter. You're one of the strongest people I know but don't keep it all in here, okay." He pointed to his chest and stepped forward to wrap the girl in a hug.

"And if you go any more hard out on those bags, you're gonna split em' and that's coming out of your pay check." He grinned.

In true Santana fashion she rolled her eyes but she couldn't help but smile a little.

"Is Puck working tonight?" Ronnie asked

"Yeah, he'll be here soon." Santana assured her boss. She was happy with how strong her voice sounded.

Ronnie patted her shoulder and continued to walk back to his office before spinning on his heel.

"Oh, are you sure you don't want a few days off? Some time to yourself?"

"I'm fine, Ronnie. I'll see you tomorrow." Santana walked out of the gym and headed home, deep in thought. Ronnie was right. She was torn up about her brother but why couldn't she take it out on the bag? She didn't want to deal with it any other way. She was fine. She was just fine.

Santana neared her door and heard laughter and music bubbling from within her apartment.

"Rachel!" Quinn yelled through a laugh. "You're hopeless, watch Brittany!"

"What? You're not seriously expecting me to move like_ that_?"

"I don't care how you move, just stop getting in my way!"

Santana frowned and opened the door. She was met by a rather odd sight. All the girls were in the lounge, in front of the flat screen, shakin' their booty's. Tina and Mercedes were laughing their infectious laughs as they watched the flat screen, then Brittany, then each other. Rachel and Quinn were pushing at each other and desperately trying to keep up while Sugar just shimmied by herself, completely unaware of her surroundings. Brittany was at the front of the group doing what looked to be like aerobic moves. She was wearing knee length sweats and a sports bra, giving Santana a full few of her toned abs. A dancing Stomach. Flat with defined and chiselled muscles that remained feminine. Santana dragged her eyes down the blonds front and gulped when she got to the waistband of Brittany's sweats. Two smooth and defined muscle lines curved in and disappeared beneath the waistband. Santana had been with guys that had the same lines but they had never been as sexy as Brittany's.

She shook her head and frowned at herself for thinking that way. This was the moment Brittany decided to turn around and notice her. Santana knew she had the inklings of a blush on her face and the eye contact with Brittany only made it worse. Brittany grinned as soon as she saw the Latina.

"San! We're doing Zumba!" Brittany yelled over the music.

"Santana," Quinn laughed, "this is so much fun, you have to try it."

"Santana are you blushing?" Tina asked when she noticed the brunette

"What? No, I've been…running." Santana blurted.

"Get in here, girl." Mercedes grabbed Santana's hand to join the group. Santana dropped her gear and decided to ditch her hoddie as well. Leaving her in only a sports bra and shorts, much like Brittany.

Santana joined the girls and easily started following the instructor on the TV. The music made her feel a little lighter which she was thankful for. She turned her eyes to Brittany and realised that the girl was staring straight at her. Or rather, her stomach. Santana grinned, she knew she had a nice stomach but the fact that Brittany was staring at it like _that_ was somewhat of a self-esteem boost.

"She's a boxer." Rachel enlightened Brittany when she noticed Brittany's leers.

Brittany blushed knowing she'd been caught.

"Oh." She said in awe before tearing away her gaze. Rachel looked a little puzzled at the strange reaction before shrugging and falling into step as well as stepping on Tina's toes.

They continued doing Zumba for the next hour. Brittany was good. Extremely good. Probably better than the instructor on the DVD. Santana couldn't not look at her. The way her body moved and the way her hips swayed. It was simple aerobics but it was completely mesmerising. The girl had an unreal body and Santana watched in utter adoration at the way her muscles in her back contracted and tensed. Sometimes Brittany would go behind the girls and Santana got the feeling she was being watched. She often found women at the gym would stare at her body because they envied her. But Brittany had an amazing body of her own so she didn't know why she would need to check out hers. Santana danced to the beat and felt her worries lifting off her shoulders as she did so.

The girls shrieks of laughter continued until the very last song and everyone clapped when it was finally over.

"Okay, after we've all showered up we're having family dinner. Everyone _must_ attend." Quinn said, looking pointedly at Santana.

Santana pursed her lips and held out her hands as if to say, 'what are you implying, biatch.'

"Tonight, we are going to learn everything there is to know about Brittany Peirce!" Quinn announced.

"Whoop, whoop!" Sugar and Mercedes said in unison, high fiving each other as they left for their own rooms.

Santana felt beads of sweat running down her chest and decided she desperately needed a shower but before she could leave the lounge, Brittany bounced over to her.

"San, I just wanted to tell you that you have an AH-mazing body. I totally envy you."

Santana was completely taken back by the honest statement and before she could answer she felt Brittany's stares on her again. As Santana desperately tried to fight an oncoming blush she noticed Britt's eyes trained to the valley between Santana's breasts that had beads of sweat dripping down it.

So much for trying to fight that blush.

"Britt, why do you envy me? Your body is," the Latina bit her lip as she looked. "friggin _AH-mazing_ too."

It was the truth. The blond had the best body that Santana had ever seen, guy or girl.

The blond shrugged and almost regretfully moved her gaze north to Santana's eyes.

"So, a boxer huh?" Britt asked

"Yup. I work at the boxing gym just around the corner." Santana smiled.

"Ever beat the crap out of anyone?" Britt asked playfully

"A couple of times…" Santana said slyly.

"Ever had the crap beat out of _you_?"

"I, ah," Santana should have seen this coming. Damn it.

She decided the truth was probably best. Although she hated appearing weak to someone. Especially Brittany.

"Y-yeah," she stammered. "once." She clenched her jaw shut and the blond realised that she wasn't going to reveal anymore.

"Why boxing?" Britt asked carefully.

"Cause I got the crap beat out of me." the Latina sighed at the round about question.

The happy and almost flirty atmosphere that had been not thirty seconds ago was now replaced by a tense and sharp one. Brittany didn't want to pry so she simply stated, "The bastards…"

This made Santana smile. The serious look on Britt's face was something _she_ could not take seriously.

"Well, if you see them again, now _you_ can beat the crap out of them." Britt grinned,

"That's the plan." Santana smirked.

"And I can be back up. Oh! We can be like the men in black," Britt clapped her hands excitedly. "Except can we not actually wear black cause it totally doesn't suit me. And instead of fighting aliens, we can just stick to humans."

Santana's smirk grew into a smile and she watched the blond. "Sounds like a plan, Britt."

They ambled up the stairs, and when they got to the top landing, turned to each other.

"You nervous?" Santana asked.

"About what?"

"Dinner. They're going to interrogate you and if there is info that you're not willing to give, they will wear you down. I've seen it done. Hell, normally, I lead the charge. They want to know everything about you."

"Why is that scary?"

"As much as I love those girls…they are gossips. Whatever you tell them will get back to the boys and even the people in your dance classes." Santana told a very confused Brittany.

"I think honesty is the best policy. Why shouldn't they know everything there is to know about me? It's who I am. I can't change it so why hide it?" Brittany said with a face of innocence.

"That's great Britt but listen, if they pry too much and you're feeling uncomfortable you can give me a signal and I'll use my charming ways to divert the conversation and save your butt."

Brittany nodded her head, "Yeah, that'll be good. Just to be safe."

"What should the signal be?" Santana asked.

"Um, I could throw my shoe at you?"

"It has to be a little more subtle that that, Britt."

"Oh, okay, So what if I throw just my shoe lace?"

Santana thought the way Brittany's face was scrunched up in thought was just about the cutest thing she had ever seen.

"Okay, maybe we should move away from the whole 'throwing things' idea and think about a hand signal."

"What about this?" Britt held her thumb and pointing finger in an 'o' shape and used the pointing finger on her other hand to move in and out of the 'o' she created. Santana's eyes went wide until she saw Brittany's smirk and realised she was messing with her.

"Oh, very mature." Santana sniggered.

Brittany merley shrugged, liking the way that cool, calm and collected Santana was blushing at such a small thing.

"Okay for real, I'll wear a necklace and if you see me tapping the pendant, that's the signal." Brittany confirmed.

"Got it. You shower first," Santana said nodding to the empty bathroom.

"Thanks." Britt smiled and made her way towards the bathroom. "And San, if I had of known you when you got the crap beat out of you, I would have gone all ape shit on their asses."

Britt closed the door to the bathroom and Santana felt her heart swell. She had only met Brittany a few days ago but the girl already made such and effect on her and had such a big hold over her. she said the sweetest things too.

Santana smiled as she entered her room and sat on her chair, absently gazing around the walls. She knew tonight was going to be interesting but she also knew that everyone had a past and if Brittany had a bad one, she wasn't about to let her roommates bring it up and shove it in her face.

Let the games begin.

**Next chapter we find out all about Brittany, a little about Santana and a lot about the group as a whole. This chap was a bit of a filler because it was important for anyone reading to know that Santana**_** is**_** struggling with her brother's death but keeping it locked up and letting it out on a punching bag. But that won't work for long. And next chapter we will meet Brittany's dance teacher, Sue! Santana's singing/drama teacher, Holly Holiday and the new directions coach, Will. **

**Contemplating a kiss in the next chapter…?**


	4. Family dinner

**Your reviews make me update fast so keep em' coming. Hope you guys like this and find it entertaining. Imagining their family dinner in my head was hella entertaining for me. Imagining Brittany on Xbox was almost too much.**

Chapter 4: Family dinner

"Britt, you ready for a cooking lesson from the master chef?" Santana asked once she entered the kitchen.

"Wait, Quinn's teaching me? I thought you were going to?"

"Cheeky!" Santana gasped. "I'll have you know I'm the best damn cook in this house."

"I'll believe that when I taste it." Britt grinned.

Santana shrugged and let a smile play on her lips, "It's on."

"What will you be teaching me how to make?"

"I was thinking spaghetti and my famous meatballs. They're pretty dope."

"Sweet. Let's do this thing." Brittany stepped out from behind the counter and Santana saw that she was wearing a bright yellow apron with ducks on it. Santana had to supress a laugh because it was just so…Brittany.

"You don't like it?" Brittany asked, looking down at her cooking apparel.

"I love it," Santana assured her, walking towards the cupboard to find what she was looking for, "Although, it's a little too clean." And with that, Santana spun around and threw a handful of flour at Brittany's chest. It separated mid-air so it managed to cover most of Brittany's face as well as body.

Brittany looked completely shocked, unable to comprehend the unjustified actions of her so called 'friend'.

Meanwhile, Santana was clutching her stomach as laughter shook her body. "You. should. See. The. Look. On. Your. face!" she gasped between laughs.

"You didn't…" Brittany finally gained her voice.

"Oh, but I did." Santana laughed again, using her fingers to make a trail in the flour on Britt's apron.

"Is this how you treat new roommates? Really?" she asked in mock annoyance.

Santana noticed the blond starting to move slowly towards the cupboard, where the flour was. She grabbed Brittany's wrists to try and stop her but the blond took the Latina by surprise when she spun them so Santana's back was against the counter. After a fleeting push of Brittany's body against her own, the dancer sprinted to the cupboard and snatched the flour. Santana stood breathless against the counter. Brittany stuck her hand in the bag and pulled of a fist full of white powder with a sly grin on her face.

"Okay, let's just talk about this for a second." Santana held up her hands, knowing full well that flour did not easily come out of her thick hair. "We don't want anybody doing anything they would regret…"

"I really don't think I'd regret this…" Brittany inched closer.

"I would." Santana said in a small voice before turning and trying to bolt. Santana was quick but she was no match for Brittany's long legs and she instantly felt warm arms encircle her waist. She shrieked and tried to get away but Brittany held fast. Santana moved the two so Brittany's back was against the counter and then Santana pushed back into the blond as hard as she could. Her butt firmly against Brittany's crotch. Brittany let out a small gasp and loosened her grip slightly. Santana used this momentary lapse in concentration to push away from Britt and the flour.

But the blond obviously recovered quickly because before she had taken two steps she felt herself being tackled to the wooden floor. She screamed and tried to escape but it was no use because Brittany was pushing all her weight down onto her, straddling her.

"San, san, san," Brittany clicked her tongue, "you really thought you would get away? Sorry, but there's no escaping me."

Santana tried to think of a witty comeback, she really did but she couldn't concentrate. Brittany was _straddling_ her and it felt unlike anything else. She felt protected and vulnerable at the same time. She wiggled beneath her and saw Brittany's eyes go wide, her pupil's dilated.

"You got flour all over me," Brittany stated and it was true, the Latina did have a good arm on her, "What have you got to say for yourself?"

Santana opened her mouth to speak but was instantly cut off by and handful of dry and bland flour being dropped in her mouth. Brittany quickly got off her and lunged for the flour to grab another handful. Santana sat up and spat the white substance everywhere.

"UGH!" she cried as she coughed and spat some more. She looked up to find Brittany looming over her, flour in hand. The blond dumped another handful on Santana's head and said that it was simply for 'good measure.'

Santana knocked Britt down and ripped the flour from her grasp. She held it above her head in a threatening matter. Santana looked down at the girl covered in flour, her blue eyes bright and playful and held her breath for a second. She really was a beautiful girl.

Santana opened up the bag up fully and Brittany's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" Santana smirked. It was then that she realised that now _she _was the one doing the straddling and Brittany's hands were resting on her thighs.

"That's a whole bag of flour. I might drown in it." Brittany watched as Santana held the whole bag in the air, tilting it forward ever so slightly.

Santana giggled. She wouldn't really tip a whole bag on Brittany but she couldn't deny that she loved the feeling of control she had in that instant.

"No, I wouldn't do-" Santana started but Brittany squirmed beneath her sending shockwaves through her centre and she no longer had control over anything. Her muscled included. The bag tipped forward and the entire contents emptied out onto Brittany's face.

The blond spluttered and desperately tried to wipe the gunk from her face. Santana gasped and tried to flick flour off Brittany's shoulders, not that it really worked. Once Britt had cleared the flour from her eyes she looked up to meet dark brown orbs and as so as she did, they both simultaneously burst out laughing.

That's how they were when Quinn found them. Laying in a great pool of white on the floor, laughing their hearts out. Both were absolutely covered in flour but it looked like Brittany had got it worse. She had never seen Santana like that. Laughing openly in a situation that she would have usually found immature.

Quinn quirked and eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip.

"Who started this?" Quinn asked, more amused than annoyed.

Brittany and Santana both glanced around at the mess before pointing to the other. The grin on Brittany's face was super cute, Quinn had to admit. Santana was grinning sheepishly, looking slightly guilty.

"Upstairs, showers. Now." Quinn said, letting them off the hook. "I'll make dinner and clean up but you owe me, Lopez."

"What? Why me?"

"Oh come on. There's no way you didn't start this…" Quinn motioned around the kitchen with her hands, looking for the right word but simply chose to just repeat "This." again.

"Touché." Santana nodded before darting up the stairs with Brittany close behind.

Quinn shook her head and smiled, glad that Santana had found someone that really seemed to get her. Quinn was Santana's best friend since high school but she still wondered what went on in the Latin's head sometimes.

**Brittany's POV**

When all the girls were sat around the table for dinner, Quinn put the creamy pasta in the middle and started dishing the food out. When everyone had a full plate of bread, salads and pasta Quinn also when around the table filling up wine glasses.

Brittany was sitting across from Santana and couldn't help but wink at her when she looked up. The playful glint in Santana's eyes told her that she too was still thinking about the flour fight. As much as Brittany knew she would love a real cooking lesson with Santana, she wondered if there was _anything _that could beat their fight in the kitchen earlier.

"Eat up." Quinn announced and everyone gratefully started eating, complementing Quinn on the tasty food.

After ten minutes of idol chat, the conversation inevitably turned to Brittany.

"So Britt, where did you grow up?" Tina asked

"Oh, I lived in Lima for a while when I was younger with my grandparents but I was sort of in an out a lot so eventually my parents sent me to boarding school." Brittany answered.

"Small world," Tina mused.

"What do you mean in and out a lot?" Mercedes asked before sipping her wine.

"My parents travelled around the country for work so sometimes they would take me with them and sometimes they would make me stay in Lima," Brittany shrugged. "I never really had a constant school until I was boarding."

"What were you doing last year?" Quinn asked.

"Working for the most part."

"Is there any reason you didn't come straight from high school to Juilliard?"

"I…was trying to save the money to go. It would have taken me a lot longer but my parents decided to help me out."

Quinn just nodded. "Why dancing?" Santana asked.

Brittany met Santana's gaze and she knew her own eyes were lit up because dancing was her passion. Her first love and when she talked about it, it showed.

"I've been dancing since I can remember. It's always been a natural thing for me. It makes me feel like I'm so much more than just another human restricted to the ways of the other seven billion people in the world. It's an escape. A way to be different and a way to express everything I feel."

Brittany realised what she said was pretty deep and mentally asked herself, '_do you want some more cheese with that cracker?'_

"They don't make em' like this anymore." Quinn said in slight awe, nodding towards Brittany.

"True that. You have any siblings?" Sugar asked

"Nope, it's just me." Brittany said, her smile faltering for the first time.

"Me too!" Sugar clapped and Brittany smiled half-heartedly

"So you want to be a professional dancer?" Rachel questioned, intrigued.

"I just want to dance. If I get paid for it, that's a bonus."

"You do realise how hard it is to make it as a dancer right?" she said in a condescending tone.

"Ouch!" Rachel yelped, leaning down to rub her shin and glaring at Santana.

"I'd say the odds of making the big time as a dancer are about the same as in Broadway." Santana hissed.

Brittany felt her heart melt a little at the fact that Santana was sticking up for her.

"I'm just being realistic."

"As am I. You know, it's not just you that has big dreams, Berry. There's more than one star in the sky." Santana practically growled.

Rachel looked genuinely scared and Quinn decided to step in. "Ladies, can we please enjoy the meal without this turning into an episode of 'predator and prey'?"

"Apart from dancing, what else are you into?" Quinn carried on.

Brittany bit her lip in thought. "I like weird stuff…" She eventually summed up.

"Like what?" Santana chuckled.

"You know, Gossip girl, Dick Van Dyke, Lady and the Tramp, monster trucks, dancing on ice, pop tarts, Jud Laws accent in 'Cold mountain', hair straighteners, love actually, Kylie, Whitney, Brittany, Robbie, Brucey, Loreal, Wild at Heart, milk, comic relief, ponies, unicorns, posh, becks, pecks, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Nike high tops. Gaw, love them."

Brittany finished rattling of things and looked around to find smiles of what she thought must have been adoration on each of the girls' faces.

"Those aren't weird things. I totally like milk and monster trucks." Sugar grinned, causing the other girls to giggle.

"What was boarding school like?" Sugar asked once the giggling had subsided.

"It was okay. I got home sick a lot."

"Awe, did you miss your parents?" Mercedes asked

"No, no. I missed my grandparents in Lima." The girls nodded in understanding.

"Did you have a tight knit group of friends? When we were in high school all the glee gang were very close." Rachel added.

"Girls wanted to be my friend and that was nice but I never really clicked with anyone. If I was being honest, I'd have to say that most of the time I would much rather hang out by myself and practice dance. The girls in my year, they were so catty and bitchy. They never talked about anything of substance. It annoyed me cause I just wanted a decent conversation. I wanted someone to contemplate the universe with," Brittany giggled along with the other girls. "I never found her though."

"Girl, you know we get our contemplating on _all the time" _Mercedes assured Brittany.

"It's true," Tina confirmed. "What were we talking about at the party last night Mercedes?"

"I believe the topic was, 'Is the world simply a tiny speck in the world of another, much bigger world?" Mercedes frowned and looked at Tina. "I swear it made more sense last night."

Everyone burst out laughing and Brittany felt she was being watched. She flicked her eyes around to catch Santana looking her way. Her eyes were so soft and understanding as she smiled at Brittany and rolled her eyes playfully and Tina and Mercedes banter.

"So you guys are all in…'new directions?'" Brittany was wondering if she got the name right when Rachel proudly spoke up.

"We started the group in high school and we won nationals three years in a row. The Juilliard director noticed us and now he kind of owns us in a way."

"How do you mean?"

"Juilliard is like our manager. When people call and ask for us to perform at various places, it goes through Juilliard and they arrange our travel, accommodation, everything."

"Wow," Brittany's eyes widened, "that's so cool. Do you get paid?"

"Yes," Rachel continued "Everyone gets paid for the gigs but all of us have other jobs as well because we don't know when our next gig is and it's not a steady income."

"Who hires you to perform?"

"Mostly rich ass assholes that host these massive parties." Santana spat.

"Sometimes we get cool gigs though, like performing at big events or sports games. We even performed once at the president's parade." Mercedes smiled proudly.

"And meanwhile, Juilliard lets us use their facilities whenever. It's a pretty awesome deal." Tina said after swallowing her mouthful.

"What jobs for you all have?"

"Rachel works at the local Broadway theatre doing jobs needed there," Quinn started.

"It's important for me to be working in an environment that keeps me focused on my dream." Rachel said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Sugar works at a fashion shop, not that she needs to but she loves it. Mercedes, Tina and I work at the club a few Streets away and Santana works in the gym with Puck."

Brittany nodded, wondering how she got such cool roommates. "Do you think you'll get a job, Brittany?" Rachel asked

"I'm working on it. Who coaches you?"

"A guy called Will. He's a good guy." Tina said.

"He's a douche bag." Santana added.

Tina rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough. He works closely with the dance department. Who is your dance instructor by the way?"

"Sue. She's an interesting character. She mocks me a lot and tells me that I dance like a cat on heat. She thinks I don't deserve to be in a senior class."

"From what Mike's told me, you totally deserve to be in there." Tina said, reaching over to rub Brittany's back affectionately.

"That's nice of him." Britt smiled. "I just want Sue to lay off me a bit. I mean, she's a massive hypocrite. And the fact that she wears a track suit everyday really annoys me. No self-respecting dancer wears a _track suit_." Brittany surprised herself with angry she sounded.

"Sue is a conniving bitch. I should know because I'm one too." Santana spoke. "Don't let it bother you, she obviously has high expectations of you because you're so talented."

"I'm sorry, was that compliment that just came out of Santana Lopez's mouth?" Mercedes gasped in shock.

Santana flung a bread crust at her and Mercedes ducked shouting, "My weave!"

The conversation carried on for a while but Brittany got lost in her own little world, thinking about how sweet Santana was.

"Brittany?" Mercedes asked again.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked what your Parents do for a living."

Brittany froze and raised her hand to her necklace, tapping on the pendant, hoping Santana would notice the signal.

"Well, um, they…" she trailed off, looking at Santana for support. The Latina noticed and cleared her throat loudly before doubling over with a deep look of discomfort covering her features.

"Oh God, Quinn what did you put in that pasta?" Santana said clutching her stomach.

"Oh my God, Santana are you okay?"

Santana stood up, swaying from side to side. She used the table to keep herself up while still clutching her stomach.

"Jesus…" she hissed and then pretended to gag. Everyone stayed in their seats, stunned.

"I think I'm gonna…"

Santana lurched her body forward with the next gag and puffed out her checks.

"She's gonna blow!" Sugar shrieked, bolting away from the table.

"UGH!" Mercedes and Tina shouted as they darted for cover behind the kitchen counter.

Britt shook her head in amazement at this girls acting talent. She stood up and made her way over to the paling Latina, wrapping a hand around her waist and basically dragging her upstairs to keep the show going.

"I'll put her to bed!" Brittany shouted over her shoulder.

Once they got to the top of the stairs Santana dragged her into her room and burst out laughing.

"That was some diversion!" Brittany congratulated her.

"You know what the best part is?" Santana asked with a cheeky grin.

"I don't have to do the dishes. Hooray!" she did a cute little fist pump before diving on her bed. Brittany looked around the room with was covered in deep reds and rich brown colours. It was homey and comforting.

"So what happened to the whole, 'the truth and nothing but the truth' attitude?" As she said this she held up her right hand for emphasise, making Brittany chuckle.

"I want them to know everything about _me_. Not my parents. My parents don't define who I am."

"Will you tell me about your parents one day?" Santana asked with curious eyes.

"Will you tell me about your brother?" Brittany asked and then internally winced. She hadn't really meant to say that. It had slipped out.

Santana eyes seemed to soften even more. She took a deep breath.

"One day, Britt Britt." Brittany smiled and looked down at her thumbs.

"That was a great flour fight today." Santana grinned. "And I totally kicked your ass."

"We have to have a rematch." Brittany said, noticing how much it sounded like a question.

"Defiantly. But I'll still kick your ass in a rematch. I'm just sayin'" the Latina held up her hands out to the side.

"We'll see. I better go help with the dishes." Brittany went to get off the bed but was stopped dead when Santana bundled her in a hug. Brittany wrapped her hands around the smaller girls back and pulled her in tighter. Her warmth was invading and so comforting and her smell was so good. It was hard to describe. Almost like coconut and vanilla mixed into one. She felt like her entire body had melted under the warmth of the girl and she had never felt so…at home. Santana pulled away and gave her the most genuine smile she had ever received.

"I'll contemplate the universe with you Britt. Any time you want."

Brittany realised how close they were standing and Santana's lovely smell still invaded her senses. Before she could stop herself of ever think about what she was doing, Brittany was leaning down to kiss Santana on the cheek. It was so unbearably soft and gentle and she heard Santana suck in a breath. Her lips pressed against the warm skin and she felt her stomach flip.

"I'll take you up on that." Brittany turned and left the room, wondering where her self-control had pissed off to.

**Santana's POV**

"Santana, you're sexy. You know it, I know it. Everybody here knows it but you're playing dead today so you need to look a little uglier."

Santana smirked, "Don't know how, boss. Being ugly is an unnatural feeling for me."

Holly Holiday stood before her class, hands on hips. "I see your point. Rachel, get over here kid, I need you to take over Santana's role."

Rachel looked highly offended as she took over Santana's position as the mutilated dead body.

The students carried on the scene for a few more minutes before Holly told them class was over.

"Santana, can I see you for a minute?" Holly called as the class departed.

"What's up?" Santana asked, perching herself on the desk.

"Are you doing okay? You know, with the whole family thing."

"Do I not look like I'm doing okay?" Santana scoffed.

"No, you look like you're doing great and that's what scares me. I know people like you, Santana. You keep all your shit locked up and look for specific ways to vent it. You know how I know that? Because I'm the same."

Santana was a little taken back my just how much her teacher was right.

"I'm fine. Why does everybody keep asking me that?" Santana said annoyed.

"So how do you do it?" Holly asked

"Do what…?"

"Vent you anger."

Santana sighed, knowing full well that she wasn't leaving until she spilled it.

"Boxing bag." She mumbled.

"Ah. You know there are other ways to get rid of all that built up emotion. Acting being one."

"Really?" Santana asked, curious despite herself.

"Sure. In dramatic scenes why not let some of that pent up emotion out? It'll improve your performance and it'll make you feel better. Or…"

"Or?" Santana prodded.

"Or you could just let it all out. Have a cry. Throw some things, get angry at the world. You're allowed to you know. Hell, Sue Sylvester does it every day. Granted, she makes _other_ people cry and tends to throw small children but she lets it out none the less."

"I'm not weak. Marco taught me to be strong."

"Did you cry at his funeral?"

"I-I…" Santana cleared her throat. "N-no. I couldn't, my parents needed me to be strong. It was their time to grieve, I had no right-"

"Of course it was your right!" Holly threw her hands in the air. "Who told you that?"

Santana looked at her feet. "It's not important. But I had to be the strong one on that day. I couldn't cry. I had to be strong. Strong." She repeated to get it into Holly's head and her own.

"Has anyone ever told you that it's okay to cry?" Holly asked softly.

Santana just shook her head, eyebrows pinched together. "Did you get to say goodbye to your brother, Santana?" Holly asked even softer.

Santana stood there for minutes, just staring at the floor before finally she shook her head, _no_.

On the day of her brother's funeral she had to do everything. Every job was passed onto her by her parents. Nobody seemed to care that it was _her_ brother. She had to be the strong one. She couldn't cry. Her parents bossed her round all morning and she did as she was told. Her mother cried on her but she held onto her own tears. When the time came to say goodbye, she couldn't. She knew if she spoke one word, her world would come crashing down and there would be no way to hold back the hurt and anger. So she stood silent as her mother weeped on the coffin. She reached out to touch the smooth wood and had to run to the toilet to vomit. Touching that coffin had made everything more real. She felt sick and worthless as she sat in the bathroom. Her brother was the only person in this world that _got_ her. Truly understood her and he was gone.

She hadn't said goodbye. The thought made her feel physically sick, again.

"You can still say goodbye." Holly continued.

"His grave's in Puerto Rico," Santana whispered.

"Santana, your brother is where ever _you_ want him to be. You can say goodbye to him whenever you feel like it. After that, you can say _hello_ to him whenever you feel like it."

Santana scrunched her face in confusion.

"You have to say goodbye first. You have to accept that he's gone. You have to come to terms with that. Once you've done that, things will be easier. You _will_ be able to talk about him and look at pictures and tell stories. He can still be a part of your life but first you have to accept."

"How do I do that?" Santana asked in a wavering voice.

"Best way you know how." Holly smiled and pulled the girl into a hug. "Don't come to class tomorrow, okay. Take some time out, have a cry. It'll be good for you. When you're ready to say goodbye, you call me." Holly told her lovingly.

"Thank you." Santana nodded before picking up her things and leaving for home.

The Latina entered her apartment to find Brittany on the couch.

"HA! Are you mentally deficient? You kiss your mama with that mouth? MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOG OFF AND GO AND LOOK FOR YOUR BALLS! THEY OBVIOUSLY DESERTED YOU SOME TIME AGO!" Brittany screamed at the TV.

It was then that Santana noticed the blond was holding a controller and had a gamer's head piece on.

"Ah, Britt. What are you doing?"

Brittany looked up and instantly paused the game. "Just…playing Xbox…"

Santana was confused. She really, _really_ didn't take Brittany for a gamer.

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm not a nerdy gamer." Brittany stumbled over her words. "It's just, if I'm angry, I like to come and let it out on here." She waved the controller around.

"Are you playing live?" Santana asked.

"Yeah…I scream at the pigs playing against me and then I beat them." she waved the controlled again. "It helps." She said sheepishly.

"Can I watch?" Santana asked

"Actually, I'm not angry anymore but if you want, I'll play and you can abuse the other players with your vicious, vicious words." Brittany smirked.

Santana leaped on the couch and turned to Brittany. "You're good at this right?" She nodded towards the controller.

"The best." Brittany smirked, oozing confidence.

"Aunty Snix has come out to play!" Santana growled, shoving on the ear piece and mic.

"Alrighty boys, which one of you dick suckers wants to die first? Cause me and my girl Britt her are about to go _all_ Lima heights on yo ass."

"Two girls, one controller did I hear?" some ass wipe spoke through the mic

"You heard right. It's a much better than your situation of one boy, one hand. Poor you."

"What are you girls doing on here anyway?" another voice spoke up. "Unless you have your Xbox plugged into the kitchen."

"Where are you from, dipshit?" Santana snapped

"Why's that?" the boy sniggered.

"You have that inbred, dumb as_ fuck _sound about you. Just wondering where that originates from."

It carried on like this for another hour or so, Santana giving harsh comments and Brittany chuckling appreciatively before taking out yet another loser in the game.

When Quinn, Rachel and Tina walked in they were stunned into silence.

"YOU SUCK SHIT AT THIS YOU PIMPLE POPING PERV! BRO, YOU HAVE _NO_ GAME. NOT ON HERE, NOT OUT THERE IN THE REAL WORLD SO WHY DON'T _YOU_ GO AND MAKE _ME_ A SANDWICH YOU MOTHER_FUCKING_ WASTE OF SPACE! Oh and we just killed your sorry butt so run along and go to the bathroom because the only action you are EVER going to get is if your finger 'accidentally' slips through the toilet paper when you're wiping your pathetic as!" Santana screamed into a head set.

She was standing on the couch and jumping up and down. Brittany was sitting next to her with a controller, smirking like this was a regular occurrence. She leaned up to give the Latina a High five. "That was a good one." She grinned.

"What is going on?" Quinn interrupted.

"Oh, I was just unleashing Aunty Snix." Santana shrugged. "And let me tell you, that was some fun shit."

Brittany turned off the TV and stood stretching her legs. "Sorry, is it okay if I leave it down here?" she pointed to the console

"Of course." Quinn murmured.

"I need a nap." Santana yawned.

"Me too, power nap time."

"Ugh, more like nana nap time." Santana stretched.

They made for the stairs, leaving three very stunned girls in their wake.

"Thanks for that." Santana smiled. "That was really quite fun."

"I think you scarred those boys for life." Brittany giggled.

"You think so?" Santana looked up hopefully, "Score." She muttered with a smirk.

"I don't have class tomorrow, wanna hang out?" Santana asked.

"I'd love too." Brittany smiled

"Great and really, thanks for that. I feel loads…lighter."

"Sometimes it's good to let a little anger out. Stops you from keeping it all inside. You were totally awesome at that by the way. I was proud to call you my smack talk back up. But just one thing, what's snicker pulling?" Brittany smiled lightly.

Santana shook her head and laughed before leaning up to softly kiss Brittany's check. The blonds grin grew to epic proportions and Santana's heart sped up intensely.

They both retreated to their rooms and flopped onto their beds. Santana wondered what tomorrow would bring. As long as she was with Brittany, she would be more than content. She thought about what Holly had told her. She knew Holly was right but Santana didn't know how to say goodbye. How do you say goodbye to someone who means so god damn much. She groaned and rolled under the covers, beating back her tears and wishing for sleep.

**So a little more insight here and a day of full Brittana next chapter. Also Brittana defining moments next Chapter too. Felt it was a little too early for a real kiss and it needs to be significant. But I have an idea! Also, only Santana could pull off going on Xbox live…I've heard it's brutal. But nothing 'Aunty Snix' can't handle, right?**

**Can anyone find the modified skins quote in there? I'll be impressed if you can! If you get it I'll mention you in the next chapter **


	5. The Lopez Bomb

**Big ups to Rhettlee, babeasaurus and Santitaomily for catching the skins quote! You guys are the shit. Hope you like this chapter. Can anyone catch Chris from Skins signature saying in this chapter?...Challenge accepted I hear you say?**

Chapter 5: The Lopez bomb

Santana descended down the stairs, slightly nervous about the fact that she was going to be spending the day with Brittany and Brittany alone. She wasn't sure what it was about Britt that had her so excited and on edge but she knew she liked it. Santana couldn't help but adore the girl. Somehow she made her forget almost everything bad in the world and helped her to think about the good stuff. And for that she was thankful.

Santana reached the kitchen and was met with quite possibly the cutest thing the history of cute things. Brittany was dancing around the kitchen with massive 'beats' headphones fit snuggly over her ears, her hair was out and whipping around her face and she was in simple sweats and a cardigan but the way she was bobbing her head and mouthing the words to the song was simply adorable. Brittany slid in her socks over to the fridge and extracted the milk, she proceeded to moon walk her way back to the breakfast counted and started to pour the white liquid into her large bowl of what looked like a mix of five different cereals.

"Britt." Santana started but the blond ignored her.

"Britt!" Santana called louder, moving towards her.

"Britt your music's too- WOAH!" Santana yelped when Brittany spun around quickly and almost bowled the smaller girl over.

"Jesus!" Brittany cried as she scrambled to grab the brunette. They both flailed around in a mass of flying limbs for a few seconds before coming to a Holt. Brittany's hands grasping Santana's hips firmly. She slowly released the Latina's hips to pull the headphones form her ears.

"Whoa. Seems like we keep falling over each other." Santana grinned

"Something like that." Brittany grinned back. Brittany moved away and picked up her giant bowl of rainbow coloured cereal and sat down at the breakfast bar. "So, what do you wanna do today?"

"I thought I could show you round?" Santana asked, popping some toast. "Ya know, show you the best bars and clubs. The areas you want to avoid and the nicer parts of town."

"Sounds great!" Brittany smiled and Santana felt her heart flutter a little…okay, a lot.

Santana and Brittany were walking side by side down the street when Santana abruptly stopped and pulled Brittany's arm to face her. "You like coffee?"

"Sure, well I like soy latte's anyway." Brittany answered.

"Cool. Let's get some then." Santana turned to walk down the steps into a small red door that Brittany would have completely missed otherwise.

"This place is so nice." Brittany praised as she stepped through the door. And she meant it. Old pictures and posters lined the red walls right up to the counter and the distinct smell of roasted coffee beans lingered in the small shop.

"It's called the red room. Best coffee in all of New York." Santana smiled shyly like she was sharing a secret.

The server recognised Santana and they chatted easily while he made Santana's coffee and Brittany's Soy Latte. Brittany wondered from picture to picture taking in the memories that burst from the black and white photos.

"Once Santana paid for their coffee the two girls took a seat in a booth, Brittany's head still spinning around to look at everything. "How did you even find this place?"

"I guess it was by accident. I sort of stumbled upon it. And red is my favourite colour so I was drawn to the door." Santana shrugged. "The coffee's really good so I keep coming back."

"I would have missed it if you hadn't stopped me."

"I guess that's the beauty of it. It makes it more special that not so many people know about it. Starbucks is overrated anyway."

"The pictures are cool. Reminds me of when I took black and white photos in my photography class in high school. I never got to see how they turned out though." Brittany frowned.

"Why not?"

"When we were getting them developed the teacher made the room really dark but I couldn't see what I was doing so I flicked the lights on. Apparently you're not supposed to do that…"

Santana smiled at the oh so innocent face before her. "You took photography? That's cool. What kind of pictures did you take?"

"Mostly stuff with animals. Ducks usually. Ducks and other feathered creatures are pretty amazing." Brittany grinned.

"Why do you like ducks so much?" Santana asked, intrigued.

"My grandparents have a lake by their house and when I stayed there I loved to go and play with the ducks. I'd feed them and talk to them and then just watch them go about their daily business." Brittany seemed to be playing a scene through her mind. "They are so simple you know. The smallest acts of affection please them and they're so loyal and protective of their young. What's your favourite animal?"

The question took Santana off guard. "Uh, I-" she thought about it for a second before looking at the blond with a smirk. "The cheetah. It's the fastest animal on earth and a ruthless killer. It's feared in the animal kingdom. It's HBIC."

Brittany cocked an eyebrow. "San, it's me you're talking to, not Puck. What's your favourite animal? The truth this time."

Santana faltered, "Wha- wait, what?"

Brittany waited patiently for Santana to grow a pair.

"Fine." Santana huffed. 'My favourite animal isn't a Cheetah. It's a…monkey okay? A fucking monkey."

Brittany grinned triumphantly. "Great. Why do you like them?"

Santana noticed Brittany's grin and physically couldn't stop herself from grinning back. "They're frigggin' adorable. Their arms are too big for their body, their feet look like hands, their hands look like feet, they swing around like they're high and I once saw one fall out of a tree because it mistook its own limbs for a branch." Santana's eyes went wide when she realised what she had just said.

"Oh god, please don't tell Puck I told you that, he wou-"

"Don't worry about it." Brittany smiled, placing her hand over Santana's and squeezing it ever so slightly. "Your monkey business is safe with me. Besides, I think it's cute that you like them. I guess you have to like your family though don't you?"

Santana slapped Brittany's arm when she got the joke, "If anyone at this table is monkey, I think _you_ might take the title."

"Why? Cause I'm 'friggin adorable'?"

Santana blushed and looked down and her empty coffee cup.

"Too easy." Brittany giggled. "Come on, what's next on the tour?" Brittany bounded towards the door.

"Pull yourself together woman." Santana muttered to herself as she followed the bouncing blond.

Brittany was waiting for her on the footpath. "Where to from here?"

"This way," Santana started walking and Brittany easily matched her strides. "I'll take to our usual bar and to the club that the girls work in."

"Sounds like a plan, San." Brittany teased.

Santana could only wonder how the blond managed to reduce her to a blushing mess when Santana had years of practicing sassiness and charisma under her belt.

It meant one thing. Santana liked her. She like, liked her, liked her. _Uh oh_.

"Here we are." Santana stopped proudly outside the Glee clubs local. "We kind of run this place." She informed Brittany.

"Ball breakers?" Brittany read the bars name.

"Yeah, you know like the cocktails? But also the bouncer likes to kick rowdy dudes in the nuts too so it kind of fits."

Brittany grinned at the explanation. The bar was still closed because it was morning so they couldn't go inside but Santana promised to take Brittany soon.

"Hey San, did you know that if you say 'beer can' in an English accent, you're actually saying 'bacon' in a Jamaican one?"

Santana looked at Brittany wearily, slightly stunned at the random fact. Brittany nodded encouragingly.

"Beer can…" Santana tried feebly. She noticed it did sound that way and laughed along with Brittany. They continued talking in Jamaican accents all the way to the club. Santana dragged Brittany around to the back door of Quinn, Tina and Mercedes work place still doing her surprisingly great Jamaican accent.

"Come here, sweet bits!" she yelled as the firmly dragged a hysterical Brittany behind her. "Aye pineapple-Tisha, come here my girl!" Santana was currently impersonating her rendition of how Jamaican guys tried to pick up girls and Brittany was laughing so hard she was crying.

"Girl what you crying for? We be getting some Jamaican in you and every ting will be alriiight!" Santana rolled her hip suggestively and Brittany burst out laughing again, a faint blush gracing her cheeks.

Santana strolled through the back entrance to the club with a giggling Brittany in tow. "I swear Britt, that's how they pick up chicks."

"That was really funny, San. _You_ are really funny."

"I do try." Santana smirked. She liked that she could make Brittany laugh so whole heartedly like that.

"Hey girlies, what's so funny?" Quinn appeared before them, holing a box of glasses.

"Santana was doing a Jamaican accent, she's really good!" Brittany said with a giggle.

"It's one of her hidden talents, accents." Quinn said with a smile.

"Awesome. Can we do some prank calls to the boys later? Test your skills?" Brittany asked with mischievous eyes.

"_That_ is an excellent idea." Santana said tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"It's on like donkey kong." Brittany said.

Quinn looked at Brittany with a grin. The girl really was adorable.

"We were wondering if you wanted to come to lunch with us? Santana asked Quinn.

"I would love to but I have a lot of work right now sorry. Maybe Tina or Mercedes?"

Brittany and Santana set off in search for Asian one of two and Aretha one and only. They found them fairly quickly, setting up the bar and looking a tad flustered.

"Tina," Santana getting the Asian girl's attention before turning to the bigger girl " and Tina Turner, we're going out to lunch. Care to join?"

"We would love to but we're really busy right now." Mercedes said rather shortly. Maybe she didn't like being called Tina…

"Yeah, big night tonight." Real Tina answered. "Lots to get ready."

"Asian sensation say what?" Santana questioned. They really must be busy if Tina was turning down food.

"Sorry, Santana." She said with a shrug and a smile to Brittany.

"It's fine. See you later then." Santana said with Brittany chucking in a cheerful "Bye!"

"Guess it's just you and me." Santana smiled.

"Okay wait, now I'm confused. Did you put the cat food in her shoe or in her soup?" Santana asked with wide eyes.

Santana and Britt had just sat down for lunch in one of Santana's favourite places and somehow the conversation had twisted and turned to end up talking about Brittany's adventures in boarding school.

"In her shoe! She was my least favourite matron anyway."

"Britt, I can't believe you put cat food in your Matrons shoe!"

"It was a dare. I had to, it's the rules. And besides, I never got caught. I only ever really got in big trouble at school once."

Before Santana could ask about the one time Brittany did get in trouble, Britt had leaned I closer with a smirk on her face.

"Wanna play truth or dare?"

"How old are you?" Santana laughed.

"It's okay. I understand if you're chicken. I mean, I wouldn't have guessed it seeing as you're 'a hardened boxer' and supposedly 'fearless'." Brittany said with air quotes.

"Who told you that?"

"You."

"Oh, yeah." Santana said matching Brittany's earlier smirk. "Fuck it."

"Yeah?" Brittany said with a growing smile.

"Yeah."

"Okay, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Santana said without a pause.

"Alright. When the waiter comes over to us you have to order in a Jamaican dude's accent, completely serious and hit on him in true Jamaican style."

Santana's eyes widened. There were people all around them, they would certainly hear. Not to mention how embarrassing it would be to do it to the waiters face. The waiter who was a very good looking, well built early twenties male.

"It's your time to shine!" Brittany squeaked when the guy walked over.

"What can I get you ladies?" He asked, pulling his pad and pen and clearly having trouble deciding which of the two ladies to gawk over. They were, after all, both extremely fine specimens.

'Now or never.' Santana thought to herself.

"Aye mon, we'll get two ov yah chickon salads and two ov yoh finest tropical juices." Santana spoke smoothly, with a hearty and thick accent.

The waiter looked genuinely shocked because not only had Santana taken on the accent, she was acting the part too. She was slouched back in her chair with her hand on the crotch of her jeans like most guys she knew would do. Santana's nice feminine clothes completely contradicted her male and Jamaican mannerisms and the waiter was very confused.

"I-is that all?" the waiter asked.

"Yuh look good yuh nuh…" Santana stated, sniffing loudly "Yuh wana get together to du a little ting?"

Brittany struggled to hold back her laughter at Santana's behaviour. It was just so funny. A snort escaped and the waiter turned towards her. Seeing that she was so obviously trying not to laugh, he clicked and laughed a little himself. He had been had. Good. He winked at Brittany before turning to walk away with another laugh.

"eh eh yu jus a goh walk pass me soh?" Santana asked the retreating waiter and Brittany burst out into laughter. Santana laughed too, proud of her achievement.

"San, that was…" Brittany wiped a tear from her eye. "You're officially my idol."

Santana looked down at herself and giggled. "I was totally just a human oxymoron."

Brittany looked confused before asking, "Is that an ox that's really stupid?"

"Nah it's usually when two things that contradict each other are used in the same phrase." Santana explained.

Brittany nodded and smiled sweetly. Santana's stomach did a little flip. They forgot about their game of truth or dare and spent the rest of lunch simply enjoying each other's company.

After lunch they argued over who would get the bill and after much debating decided splitting it would be easier. They walked out into the brisk air and Brittany turned to Santana wondering what was next on their tour.

"I thought I'd take you to the gym that I work at. That way you'll know where to find me if I'm not at home or classes."

"Sure." Brittany smiled.

Brittany had liked Santana from the get go. Everything about her. The way she spoke, what she said, the way she held herself and the way she looked. God, the way she looked…she was fiiine. And her eyes were so captivating. Brittany was good at reading people. She always had been. She could tell how a person felt by simply observing her body language and that was enough. But Santana had been practicing 'stoic' a long time and she had put up fronts. Big walls surrounding her emotions. The only way Brittany could see past those big damn walls was through her eyes. No matter what a person did or how hard they tried, their emotions could always be seen through their eyes.

Today Santana's eyes had a bright sparkle that lit up the deep brown from within. Brittany knew she was feeling good, happy even. But there was something else flickering in those big doe eyes and Brittany recognised it as guilt. But why was she feeling guilty?

"What kind of music do you like?" Santana asked as they rounded the corner to the gym.

"I have a big range and to be honest I like almost anything. If you can dance to it, I'm happy."

"Any bands in particular?"

Brittany thought about this for a second. "I like these guys called Rizzle Kicks cause they're like hip hop and rap with reggae roots. And you know how I love to rap." Brittany winked. "I love dancing to Ke$ha and Brittany music but I love listening to older reggae stuff like Bob Marley too."

"That sounds like a good mix." Santana nodded

"What about you? Who's your singing inspiration?"

"Amy Winehouse and Adele are up there. Whatever has soul I guess." Santana shrugged. "Oh, we're here."

Brittany glanced around the gym admiring all the bright red punching bags, shining silver weights and mammoth training equipment.

"You work _here_?"

"Yup."

"Wow. It's so intimidating."

"You get used to it. Besides all the guys in here are big softies at heart."

Santana lead them up to a large man who was currently annihilating a punching bag. Seriously, the guy was a machine.

"Hey Ronnie." Santana smiled.

"Heya kiddo." Ronnie grinned before frowning. "I told you to have the day off…"

"I know. I wanted to bring my friend to show her where I worked. This is Brittany, the new roommate."

Brittany would have extended her hand if the guy hadn't been wearing thick gloves.

"Britt, this is Ronnie. He's my boss."

"Nice to meet you." Brittany said a little shyly.

"And you." Ronnie smiled. "Listen, I hope you're taking good care of Santana here." Santana rolled her eyes. "Make sure she doesn't work today alright. Not work out, not school work, nothing."

"Yes, Sir." Brittany nodded and thought back to the conversation she had had with Quinn last night…

"_You're spending the day with S tomorrow, right?" Quinn asked as she silently entered Brittany's room._

"_Yip."_

"_Okay, that's great but you need to beware."_

"_Of what exactly?"_

_Quinn lowered her voice, "With her whole 'brother' thing we've kind of decided that Santana's like a bomb." _

"_Shoot. That sounds dangerous."_

"_Oh, it most likely will be. See, Santana is keeping all of her anger and sadness about her brother's death locked up. But it's only a matter of time until all that emotion explodes over everything and everyone she can get her hands on."_

_The girl was straight to the point, that's for sure but Brittany was still a little confused._

"_Britt, S is going to explode at some point. We've been waiting for it but it hasn't come yet. It's in her nature to be all defensive and block everything out but at some stage, something will trigger her and shit is gon' hit the fan. Multiple fans. And we will all willingly clean up the mess but until then just stay on your toes." Quinn smiled and backed away to the door. "Just wanted to give you a heads up."_

"_Quinnie, I don't want San to explode."_

"_She has to Britt. To move on, she has to."_

"_What if she exploded when none of you are around to help me?"_

"_Just do the best you can. You calm her down, you know." Quinn nodded at Brittany. "I've never seen someone have the effect you have on her. I think you two will be great friends. Best friends."_

"_I don't want to steal her from you." Brittany said guiltily._

"_I can share." Quinn said with a wink and spun to leave the room._

"Ronnie's cool." Brittany praised when the two girls left the gym.

"Not as cool as where we are about to go."

"Where?" Brittany jumped excitedly.

"My favourite park. It's got these massive oak trees and a quiet pond. It's like an oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle. Oh and I need to grab something from the store first."

"Wow, San. It's so pretty!" Brittany squealed.

"Yup, and there's heaps of ducks around here too. We can feed them." Santana pulled out the loaf of bread she had bought at the store and Brittany jumped and clapped her hands.

"Oh look, there's a bridge too." Brittany squealed again as she ran over to the small bridge that crossed the pond. Once Santana caught up to her, Brittany turned to her with a serious look.

"This should be out secrets bridge." The blond announced.

"Sorry, our what?"

"Back in Lima, at my grandparents' place they have a gate that leads round the back of the house. Every time you go through gate you have to tell it a secret. A real secret."

"Ah, why?" Santana asked, perplexed.

"Because sometimes you feel better after you've said something out loud. Even if it is just to a piece of wood." Brittany said with big, cute eyes.

If it was anyone else Santana would have laughed in their face and thrown them into the pond but Brittany was so sincere and genuine and Santana felt herself nodding in agreement.

"Great! So now every time we cross the bridge, we have to tell it a secret. I'll go first and when I'm over, you go." Brittany smiled and spun on her heel.

When she was half way across and out of ear shot she started talking. "Hello, bridge of secrets. Oh! Maybe I'll call you bridge- et jones diary? So, here's my secret…I like,_ like_ Santana. Hope you'll keep that secret safe for now." Brittany turned and motioned for Santana to follow.

"Um, I- hi there bridge. A secret, huh? Well, I think I'm in trouble cause…I- I like her. I really fucking like _her_. This hasn't happened since high school and I- shit, am I talking to a bridge? Fucking hell." Santana finished and walked swiftly towards Brittany who was waiting on a park bench.

"Do you have lots of deep dark secrets?" Brittany teased while Santana shared the bread between them.

"I have my fair share." Santana said with tired smile and decided to change the subject. "So what was the one time you got in trouble at school for? You said something about it at lunch."

Brittany's eyes dimmed at the question. "I got in trouble constantly for things I couldn't help but one time I refused to do something and the teacher sent me to the principle because she thought I was 'undermining her.'

"What did you do?" Santana asked curiously.

"It's not very bad ass…" Brittany said looking down.

"Spill." Santana demanded and Brittany sighed.

"One time the teacher told us that we had to write an essay describing something truly beautiful and I refused. For me the word beautiful shouldn't be used lightly. It shouldn't be tossed around so much that it loses its value. Beautiful is sacred to me." Brittany smiled softly. "Something truly beautiful should leave you speechless. Wordless. It should be _indescribable_. How was I supposed to describe something that left me without words?" Brittany shrugged and Santana felt her heart melt.

"That is so sweet, Britt."

"Yeah, well, tell that to Mrs Kostanitch."

"Why else did you get in trouble?"

Brittany frowned. "I wasn't exactly the smartest tool in the cupboard at high school. Yeah, I was good at sports and hands on stuff but I just didn't get some stuff. Stuff like maths. Maths was the worst."

"Did your teachers get angry because you couldn't do it?"

"Yeah. They thought I was so dumb. They thought that just because I couldn't solve an equation in algebra or write the perfect essay that I would never amount to anything."

"What about physics? You're taking some papers right now aren't you?"

"Even physics was horrible for me. I never got it until my tutor showed me how it was applied in dancing. Then it clicked. I'm okay when I can visualise things." Brittany shrugged.

"It makes me angry when teachers make their students feel like crap." Santana snapped.

Brittany nodded solemnly. "My grandmother told me something once, and it's so true," Brittany stared out towards the ducks. "If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Brittany sighed. "I wasn't made to sit in an office with a nine to five job, working on numbers and logistics all day every day for the rest of my life. They were judging me on things that I wasn't built to do. They wanted me to climb that tree so bad. But I'm a fish and all I wanted to do was swim." Brittany was staring intently at the ducks and Santana realised that she was no longer talking about her high school teachers.

Santana decided to play along. "Your…teachers. What did they do when you told them you just wanted to 'swim' rather than 'climb the tree.'?"

"They were so angry. All their hard work gone to waste, they said. But I just couldn't do what they were asking. We only live once and I want to _live_." Brittany turned to face Santana with a small smile. "All this metaphor stuff was mildly confusing."

"I agree. So let me ask, was that about your teachers or somebody else?"

Brittany bit her lip, "It was my parents. I _did_ get in trouble at school for not understanding but I got in _massive_ trouble at home when I went to a dance class rather than a tutoring session."

Santana nodded. "But are they okay with it now that you're at the most prestigious dance school in the country?" she added a wink for good measure.

Brittany smiled before he face fell. "No. They hate it. They never even talk to me anymore. And when they do, all they do it try and get me to run their business."

"That's too bad, sweetie." Santana rubbed Brittany's back. "It's their loss that they don't know how great a dancer you are."

Brittany smirked. "You've never even seen me dance, how would you know!"

"I can tell these things. It's a sixth sense." Santana grinned. "When can I see you dance for real?"

Brittany looked up almost shocked. "You want to see me dancing propely? Like an exam?" She asked excitedly

"Of course!" Santana grinned. "I can't wait."

"Mike and I have paired up for our first assessment. It's coming up soon." Brittany squealed.

Santana told her she'd be there before giving Brittany her bread to feed the ducks. The dancer bounced towards the quacking creatures, flicking chucks of bread everywhere around her, wondering how she was so lucky to meet someone like San.

The girls arrived home to Quinn, Tina, and Mercedes dancing in the kitchen while making dinner. They were using cooking utensils as substitute microphones and it was really a sight for sore eyes.

Santana and Brittany glanced at each other before breaking out into a grin and joining in with the girls. Brittany recognised the club type music and automatically began moving her body to the beat naturally.

"Let's go!  
Make no excuses now  
I'm talking here and now  
I'm talking here and now  
Let's go!  
Your time is running out  
Let's go!  
I'm talking here and now  
I'm talking here and now" Mercedes sang smoothly.

"It's not about what you've done  
It's about what you doing  
It's all about where you going  
No matter where you've been  
Let's go!" Mercedes and Santana harmonized this part and Brittany could only describe it as an eargasm.

"Thank God for Calvin Harris!" Quinn laughed

"Lets go!" everyone screamed

The heavy bass blasted through the apartment and Brittany watched in awe as of her roommates jumped in synchronisation and danced. They moved around each other like a well-oiled machine and they didn't even know they were doing it. They complimented each other so wonderfully. It was the first time that Brittany felt self-conscious about being the newbie. The new part of the machine.

Brittany forgot her worries fairly quickly when the girls surrounded her to make a mini mosh pit.

"There ain't no better time  
I'm talking here and now  
I'm talking here and now  
Let's go!  
Right now is where you shine  
I'm talking here and now  
I'm talking here and now" Santana sang right next to Brittany's ear and the blond felt shudders running though her body.

The girls continued dancing like maniacs around the kitchen until Rachel trotted into the room with an awkward looking Finn in tow.

"Any messages for me?" Rachel asked with an ego the size of a small country.

"Yes!" Santana said raising her hand to signal 'one second' and walking to the fridge, pulling off a random piece of paper that happened to be stuck on. She cleared her throat and pretended to read the scrap paper.

"A Mr Willy Wonker from…the chocolate factory called. He wants his oompa loompa's back." Santana looked up at a confused Rachel and turned to Finn, "You better take this one back home before Mr Wonker calls again."

The girls stifled their laugher as Rachel stormed angrily from the room. Finn followed after her, still not understanding the insult.

"You're too mean." Tina laughed.

"What can I say; it's a love hate relationship. She loves me, I hate her." Santana shrugged.

"One day she's gonna lose her rag and you're going to regret it." Mercedes agreed.

"Why? Because she'll have nothing else to wear and I'll be a witness to the stuff of nightmares that is one naked Rachel Berry?" Santana shuddered at the thought. "Maybe you're right."

"You're too witty for your own good, S." Quinn tried to scold. "And you know what Mercedes means. One day Rachel won't take the high road and you'll have a face full of Berry fist."

"Puh-lease." Santana scoffed. "Like she could reach my face."

"We'll see." Quinn said with a smirk. "Why can't you be as nice to Rachel as you are to Brittany?"

Brittany looked towards Santana, interested in the answer.

Santana looked a little flustered as she answered. "Well first off, Britt isn't a hobbit, she doesn't have man hands and does not in any way resemble RuPaul."

"Seriously, S." Quinn said, rolling her eyes. "Be nice."

Santana held her hands up in mock surrender. "I give, okay Mom?"

There were chuckles all around the room and Brittany couldn't help but feel that these girls were so much more than just a group of friends living together for convenience.

Homemade pizza was cooked, burnt and shared around for dinner. Rachel leaving with Finn half way through to go to some show they had tickets for and the girls working at the club left with slouched shoulders to go and run the place for the night. Sugar was out at a high end party with her family which left Brittany and Santana home.

Brittany dove onto the big red couch after her and Santana finished the dishes. Santana chuckled softly. "Movie?" she asked.

Brittany had seen that the girls owned the 'friends' box set and was in the mood for some light hearted comedy.

"Friends!" Brittany shouted.

Santana's smile grew. "You like friends?"

"Love it. Best. Show. Ever."

"Who's your favourite?" Santana asked as she slipped the disc into the DVD.

"Ummm..it's hard to pick just one but…probably Phoebe. She's like me."

"Phoebe can't be your favourite?" Santana pouted.

"Why?"

"Cause she's my favourite!"

"Fine." Brittany pouted. "Then I get Joey! How _you_ doin'?"

Santana laughed at Brittany's attempt at 'the joey' and grabbed a blanket off another couch before settling in next to Brittany and draping the blanket over them both.

They had only been watching for 15 minutes and somehow Brittany's head had made its way to Santana's shoulder. Every time the blond laughed Santana felt warm breath brushing across her neck and collar bone.

Brittany was a touchy feely person. She always had been. She loved giving and receiving hugs, she loved holding hands with people and basically she liked contact. It wasn't flirty or sexual but it was reassuring. So it wasn't unusual for her that she was leaning on a friends shoulder. What _was _unusual was how fast her blood was pumping and how hard her heart was pounding. She snuggled further into Santana and heard the other girl sigh softly. Santana felt so good. Warm and soft. She smelt like vanilla and coconut with a hint of bread dough from their home made pizzas.

"Ross is such a douche bag." Santana said out of the blue.

"Yeah." Brittany agreed, "And he has awful gaydar."

Santana chuckled again, sending vibrations through Brittany's body.

"You know normally, I'm not a touchy feely person." Santana said. "But with you, I feel comfortable. Almost too comfortable."

"Sorry," Brittany said, starting to sit up. "Is this not okay?"

Santana grabbed the blonds waist and pulled her back down until she was settled nicely in the crook of her neck. "No, I…I like this. It's nice."

"mmm" Brittany hummed.

Santana took a deep Breath. "I want to know everything there is to know about you, Britt."

Brittany's eyes widened. No one had ever said that to her before.  
"What if I'm boring?"

Santana smiled, "Trust me, if you were boring we would not be having this conversation right now."

Brittany smiled timidly. "Okay, what would you like to know?"

"Hmm, what's your favourite movie?"

"Finding Nemo!" Brittany squeaked adorably.

"Why Finding Nemo?"

"Because I'm pretty sure 'Dori is my long lost fish twin."

Santana thought about this for a second while Brittany chanted, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Santana giggled and pulled Brittany closer.

"What's yours?"

"Maybe Marry Poppins. I know its lame but I used to watch it when I was a kid and I always wished I could jump into those chalk paintings that the guy drew on the ground." Santana said, knowing that she had never told another person that information.

Brittany looked up at Santana in awe. "Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go dooooown." Brittany sang quietly and Santana giggled.

"Favourite book?" Santana asked, completely ignoring the TV.

"I don't read much." The Blond admitted. "Do you?"

"Yeah, I quite like reading. It's like making a movie in your head. The scene is the way _you _want it to be."

Brittany smiled knowing she was knocking down Santana's walls faster than Jackie Chan climbs bamboo buildings.

"Have a favourite?"

"Alice in Wonderland." Santana said instantly.

"Why?"

"I always liked Alice." Santana murmured. "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?'"

Brittany listened in awe as Santana quoted Alice, letting the smoothness of her voice run like warm water through her body.

"Wow." Brittany whispered.

"Yup, Alice was quite a character. What's your favorite sport, apart from dancing?"

"Probably football. No, basketball. Wait, baseball. I think maybe soccer. I…I guess I like everything? You?"

"Apart from boxing I like football. My brother and I always made these ridiculous bets when the super bowl was on." Santana trailed off when she realized what she had said. Brittany stayed silent, listening as Santana's heart beat speed up noticeably.

"Hey Britt, I was thinking, you told me about your parents so it's only fair that I tell you about my brother." Santana said slowly.

Brittany slid her hand under the blanket until it found Santana's and she interlinked their fingers. "Don't do anything you're not comfortable with." Brittany said softly but with underlying force. "If you don't want to talk about this, don't feel you have to."

Santana wanted to. The fact that Brittany wasn't forcing her made it easier.

"He was my best friend." Santana said quietly. "He taught me everything I know." She smiled fondly. "He believed in me most."

"Was he like you?"

"No. He had a big heart and he was such a _beautiful_ person."

"So…he was like you then." Brittany smiled kindly. Santana just shook her head, _no_.

"What did he look like?" Brittany tried.

Santana dug around in her pocket and pulled out her IPhone, tapping the screen and sliding the lock across. She passed it to Brittany and watched her reaction.

Brittany took in the Latina's background photo and felt her heart clench. It was a photo of Santana and a guy maybe a couple years older than them. They were at the beach and it was clear that the guy had the phone in his hand to take the picture. The sea and sand stretched behind them in the back ground. The guy was extremely hansom with a prominent jaw, tan skin like his sister, curly short hair, soft features and bright mischievous eyes. He had his arm around Santana, pulling her into his side and Santana had that smile. That smile that showed her dimples. That truly happy and vulnerable smile that Brittany had only seen once, at the night of the party when they had locked eyes during Brittany's rap.

"San, he's gorgeous." Slipped out of Brittany's mouth.

Santana just nodded.

"What was his name?"

"Marco." She whispered.

Santana looked hard at her lap for a long time and Brittany who still had a hold of one of Santana's hand felt her body start to shake.

"I feel so, so guilty." Santana whispered, her voice cracking. Brittany saw a few tears carve their way from the edge of brown eyes to the Latin's jaw line before dropping off onto the blanket. Santana's face was contorted slightly in obvious pain and Brittany felt horrible for the girl.

"It wasn't your fault." Brittany comforted her.

"No I don't feel guilty about his..death. I…I just…they didn't even play his favourite song at his own funeral. _His_ song." Santana looked up and a sob shaking her body. "I'm so gutless."

"What? No, you're not. There was-"

"His funeral should have been about _him_. What _he_ liked." Santana stood up, the sadness making way for frustration and anger.

"Instead it was this fucking traditional, boring and fake as fuck show. He was none of those things. They didn't even play his favourite song!" She said again, yelling this time.

Brittany stood up and tried to reach for Santana but the girl pulled away. "And now I'm going around acting like nothing even happened. I'm laughing and smiling and I shouldn't be! Everything is so messed up! I'm so messed up." Santana's voice cracked on the last word, fresh tears spilling down her face.

"San, it's okay to be happy. You shouldn't feel guilty for that."

"I didn't say goodbye." Santana sobbed violently, her whole body lurching. "I'm such a coward."

"San…" Brittany started.

"FUCK!" Santana screamed.

_Oh shit, she's exploding_, Brittany thought to herself.

"He was my best friend, the only one who really, really got me and I couldn't even pluck up the courage to say goodbye to him. I didn't even tell him I loved him! What's wrong with me?" Santana screamed as Brittany stood shocked.

"I just..fucking…AHHRR…WHY?" Santana moved her hands around crazily as she searched for and answer that wasn't there and never would. Tears streamed down her face and all the muscles in her body looked tensed up.

"WHYYYY!" Santana screamed followed by another whispered, "why?" and then Brittany saw her mouth the word once more. Shoulders slumped and head down the girl looked so small, fragile and lost.

Brittany stepped forward and touched Santana's arm softly. The Latina leaped away like she'd been shocked before turning and bolting up the stairs, Brittany doing the same soon after.

Santana had been in the bathroom for a long time. She went in at 8.00 and it had just gone 9.30. Brittany heard the shower running for a good half hour but since then…nothing. She had been contemplating going to see if Santana was alright for ten minutes. The only thing holding Brittany back is fear of scaring the poor girl or doing worse damage.

But Brittany made her decision and gulped, silently praying to whoever was listening. All she asked was that Santana let her help, please.

Brittany knocked on the door softly and waited to hear a response, hear anything. She knocked again, a little harder. Nothing. Britt grasped the handle and turned, pushing the door open just a fraction. There was no protest so she pushed it completely and what she saw broke her heart.

Santana was sitting with her back to the door, her head hung and her breaths shaking her entire body. Her body was slumped to the ground as though she had given up trying to stand, trying to be strong. Her back was bare and it looked as though she had only managed to get her underwear on before it all became too much. Brittany rushed to kneel in front of her and it was like she couldn't muster enough energy to lift her head. Her hair was still damp and rebellious drips carved their way through the crevasses of her body.

"San," Brittany whispered

Santana's body gained some motion at the sound of the blonds voice and slowly, painfully slowly, her head lifted until her eyes met blue. At the sight of her eyes Brittany's heart shattered into a million pieces, each fragment melting until it lay in a pool of liquid at the bottom of her stomach. Her eyes, those beautiful deep brown eyes that Brittany loved, they were hurting. So badly.

Her eyes were swollen and red from crying and tears still cascaded down her cheeks in torrents. She had reached her breaking point. Brittany looked over her body, her limbs dead and lifeless, her chest shaking uncontrollably with each breath, each sob. A tear glided down her cheek to her top lip where it split open, drenching her lips in liquid despair. Her lips quivered and all Brittany wanted to do was take her pain, her hurt, take it all away. She felt helpless as she watched Santana look at her with all that hurt, confusion and despair.

"Oh, San," Brittany whispered, cupping her cheek in one hand

A reckless shake ripped through Santana's body, rattling her tiny frame. Brittany leaned forward and wrapped my hands around Santana's waist and bum. As she stood with Santana in her arms and at first she felt like deadweight but within seconds that changed. Santana wrapped her legs tight around Brittany's hips and her arms found their way around her neck. She was holding on so tight Brittany was finding it hard to breath but she didn't care in the slightest. Brittany walked through the bathroom to Santana's bed where she sat on the edge, Santana still clinging tightly to her, head buried in the crook of Brittany's neck, her sobs echoing through the room. Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's smooth back and pulled her closer still. She was so incredibly warm. Brittany could feel Santana's tears rolling from her cheeks onto her neck and it killed her that she was hurting so much. Britt rubbed her hand soothingly up and down Santana's back and soon the sobs quietened. Santana pushed her hips further into Brittany as she longed for to be closer, to be comforted. Brittany stood with the Latina cradled in her arms and went to the head of the bed, pulling back the covers, hoping in so she was sitting against the headboard with Santana's legs wrapped around her. Brittany pulled her close again, snaking her arms around her tiny body and Santana clung to her for dear life.

"I'm here, San. I'm not going anywhere." Brittany soothed, running her fingers through Santana's dark locks like her grandma had done to her when she was sad.

"P-promis-se?" Santana stuttered through tear.

"I promise." Brittany hugged her tightened. "Let it all out, San"

Santana curled into Brittany and sobs that she had no control over ripped through her body. Brittany held her close. Riding out every sob with her.

After a while Santana whispered "I m-miss him s-so much." with a little hiccup at the end.

"I know you do. It okay to miss him. To be angry and sad." Brittany continued to run her hands through Santana's hair.

Santana nuzzled into Brittany. "I'm s-sorry to have to bear the brunt of the L-Lopez bomb."

Brittany looked at her quizzically.

"Y-yeah, I K-know." Quiets sobs still rushed through the smaller girls body but they had eased up a little.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Brittany smiled "Sleep now." And with that Santana shut her red rimmed eyes and settled with her head over Brittany's heart and each hand with a fist full of Brittany's shirt.

Brittany pulled the blankets up over them snuggly, wondering if Santana was cold because of her lack of shirt. She wrapped her hands around the smaller girl, resting her hands on Santana's warm, smooth back. Brittany felt closer to Santana than she had before and not only literally. Santana did a soft hiccup and clenched Brittany's shirt closer.

"You are _beautiful_." Brittany whispered just as she slipped into a deep sleep.

Santana smiled softly and it was the first time since her brother's death that she didn't feel guilty about it.

**Okay, who actually did say 'beer can' in an English accent to test the theory? I know, me too! You are not alone.**

**Rizzle Kicks are amazing and you should check them out. I totally think they are a band/group that my adaptation of Brittany would be into considering her being 'ghetto' and what not.**

**Song that the girls sing in the kitchen- Lets go by Calvin Harris.**

**No offence to any Jamaican people! The world loves you as do I but come on, Santana doing a Jamaican accent on a dare by Brittany… that was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.**

**Anything in particular you liked? Let me know about it.**


	6. cheering up Santana part 1

**Chapter 6: Cheer up Santana part 1**

**The first song is ****Broken by Lifehouse. Listen along while you read and let me know what you think. Any phrases that you don't understand or anything, review about it or PM me and I'll clarify for ya. **

When Santana woke from her sleep it wasn't with a jolt like she had been doing lately. It was smooth and soft. It was incredibly gentle and Santana wasn't used to that. But she loved it. She inhaled deeply and smelt fruit. Not fruit per say but rather a fruity essence. It was apple and strawberry smelling but was also mixed in with that smell of warm skin and sleep. It was amazing. Santana inhaled again and the second hit was even better. She realised she had a fist full of navy blue shirt and her head was resting against a soft surface that was moving up and down subtly. Santana could hear the soft thump of a continuous heart beat and it was then that the previous night came flooding back.

The happiness at first. With Brittany on the couch Santana felt relaxed and safe. Happy. But then, as usual, the onslaught of guilt slashed its way into her heart and brain and this time she couldn't fight it. She was too tired to keep fighting it. And everything just sort of broke down. It was inevitable. She knew it was coming. Hell, everyone knew it was coming. But she cursed herself that she acted like that in front of Brittany. The poor girl probably thought she was batshit crazy. Well, if she did, she wasn't showing it. Brittany was holding Santana tight to her chest, her smooth hands resting delicately on the Latina's bare back.

'_oh shit_.' Santana thought. '_I don't even have my shirt on. What's wrong with me?'_

Last night Santana had been so, so exhausted. She got out after her shower and slumped to the ground, violent, uncontrollable sobs swept through her body and really, finding a shirt was the least of her worries.

Brittany had been so sweet. Lifting her up, taking her to bed and comforting her. In truth, she barely knew the girl but had been forced to bear the burden of 'the explosion.' Santana felt guilty about that too. Just another thing to add to the list. She did feel a little better though, after having a good cry. She was a sensitive soul with a hard exterior and stuff like what happened last night did not happen very often to her. Or, ever.

Santana knew where she wanted to go but was finding is very hard to muster the will power to tear herself away from the soft body that was holding her in a protective bubble. Santana looked up at Brittany's face and marvelled over how peaceful it looked. Her lips slightly parted and blond strands of hair falling over her cheeks. Santana looked down at her nearly naked body and felt herself blush. Last night, she had been too distraught to care but now, laying in Brittany's arms, it was all very intimate. Santana had to get dressed at least. Slowly and gently, she pried the arms from around her and slipped from the warm embrace, feeling the cold instantly.

As quietly as she could, Santana dressed herself and fixed her hair and makeup. Her eyes still puffy from last night's facial down pour. She rolled her eyes at herself. _Classy. _Santana went to leave the room but looked back at Brittany before she was through the door. Britt was dead to the world, her soft breathing filling the room. Without realising it, Santana stood and watched the sleeping blond for ten minutes before turning to leave.

It was quiet throughout the apartment, everyone still passed out. Santana was thankful for how easy it was to slip out the front door and walk away.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Morning ,Brittany." Quinn smiled

"Morning." Brittany yawned.

"How was work last night?" Brittany asked.

Quinn shrugged, "Same old stuff. We had a couple of big names turn up though so that was good. How was your night?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that…" Brittany said, not quite knowing what to say. She knew she had to say something. Quinn was like Santana's family, she had to know.

"Did the bomb explode?" Quinn guessed, wide eyed.

Brittany nodded and Quinn dropped everything she was doing.

"What happened?"

"She yelled and then cried… for a couple hours…" Brittany said quietly.

"Where is she now? Is she in bed?"

"No, I thought she must have been down here." Brittany said, pointing around the downstairs level.

Quinn ran through the house and into each room, with Brittany close behind.

"Mercedes! Is S in there?" Quinn shouted through the door.

"No!"

Rachel was in Tina's room. "You girls seen S?"

"Nope. She working today?"

"No, but she went off last night."

"Oh shit." Tina and Rachel said together, rushing into the hall way.

Tina sprinted upstairs, flinging open ever door while Quinn pulled out her phone. "Puck? Is Santana with you? She broke down last night and now she's not here."

Brittany strained to hear the voice at the other end of the line.

"WHAT? No, she's not here." she heard faintly.

Brittany was confused at why everyone was acting so stressed. It was making her stressed. Very stressed.

"What's happening?" Brittany asked Tina.

Tina bit her lip, working out the right words. "It's just that…sometimes, when Santana gets emotional she does stupid stuff. Like, really stupid stuff. We're worried that she's gone and done something stupid."

"God, she wouldn't….hurt herself would she?" I gasped, my heart hammering in my chest.

"No! It's not her we're worried about."

Brittany looked even more confused.

"No, I mean, we _are_ worried about her, obviously but she can do damage. Real damage."

"We're going to find her!" Quinn hollered through the house and the girls came running.

"Brittany, you and Tina come with me. Rachel and Sugar go to the gym. Mercedes go with Sam to the bar."

We set off walking. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." Brittany said to Tina.

"When we were all freshman, Santana's dad hit her brother so she set his car on fire. In sophomore year Santana's granddad died and so she took her baseball bat and smashed every mailbox in the next five blocks. In junior year she was cut from the Cherrios temporarily so she stuffed freshman's into shopping trollies and rammed them into brick walls, claiming she was 'trying to get to platform nine and three quarters'. Senior year was the worst yet. Something happened, we don't know what. She went on a rampage. Total and utter rage. She practically held up breadstix and then drove around Lima like a crazy. She stole as many road signs as could fit in her car and then threw them like Frisbees from the top of the bleachers at Mckinly down onto the newly laid football field, effectively ripping it to shreds. The next day we found her on a bed of breadsticks in the janitor's closet, listening to Adele, eating ice cream and crying her eyes out. We knew something was up then. High school Santana did _not_ eat calories."

"Oh my god." Brittany's eyes widened.

"All those times she got in trouble. BIG trouble but she was just a kid so she got let off the hook a bit. Now…she's an adult. If she got arrested or something…" Tina shook her head. "We don't know for sure if she'll do something stupid but we certainly aren't ruling it out. Santana's not the most rational person around."

"We need to find her." Quinn said as we reached the footpath.

"Where are we going?"

"Juilliard." Quinn answered.

"How do you know she'll be there?"

"I don't."

It was raining outside and pretty soon my hair was sticking to the back of Brittany's neck. In their haste the girl's had forgotten umbrella's or even jackets for that matter. The rain did help somewhat though because Brittany knew that Santana probably wouldn't have gone to her special park in weather like this. That's one place ruled out.

Thankfully Juilliard was only a ten minute walk away. Quinn looked down at her phone angrily. "Ugh she turned her phone off. It's going straight to voicemail."

They entered the main music building an Brittany looked to Quinn for direction, never having been the music department before. Quinn pointed down the hall. "There's a massive auditorium right through the end door and to the right. Check there and meet us here after."

Brittany followed instructions and ended up at the backstage door, carefully pushing it open. She was met by the sound of a piano playing. Her first few footsteps were tentative but grew more confident. Then a voice started ringing through the empty auditorium and she was completely and utterly floored.

"The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight  
Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time  
I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts  
I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out."

Santana's voice flowed through Brittany like nothing she had ever heard before. It drew her in. She could see the Latina sitting at the lone piano on the stage, playing the black and white keys and singing, unaware of an audience. Brittany's relief at having found Santana coursed through her and she sighed gently.

"I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing  
With a broken heart that's still beating  
In the pain, there is healing  
In your name I find meaning  
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on  
I'm barely holdin' on to you"

Brittany's heart thumped wildly, painfully wildly.

"The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head  
I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead  
I still see your reflection inside of my eyes  
That are looking for a purpose, they're still looking for life."

Santana's shoulder slumped almost in defeat. Brittany moved closer out of pure instinct.

"I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing  
with a broken heart that's still beating  
In the pain (in the pain), is there healing  
In your name (in your name) I find meaning  
So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on  
I'm barely holdin' on to you."

Brittany could see tears rolling down Santana's face and she wanted so badly just to console her. But she felt the overwhelming urge to let her finish the song. And so the piano played on.

"I'm hangin' on another day  
Just to see what you throw my way  
And I'm hanging on to the words you say  
You said that I will be OK"

Santana clenched her eyes shut and painfully sang on, raw emotions pummeling her body from the inside.

"The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone  
I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way home"

Santana's voice finally caved and she barely whispered the last verse, the piano playing soft notes to accompany her.

"I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing  
with a broken heart that's still beating  
In the pain(In the pain) there is healing  
In your name I find meaning  
So I'm holdin' on I'm holdin' on I'm holdin' on  
I'm barely holdin' on to you." Santana sighed heavily and shook her head, her dark locks swirling around her face. Brittany felt like she was being punched repeatedly in the gut seeing Santana so defeated.

"San, your voice is amazing." Brittnany whispered, sliding up to her.

"Oh god, you catch me at the worst times I swear." Santana said, wiping tears from her cheeks. She scooted over and Brittany sat next to her.

"I'm so glad I found you." Brittany said earnestly. Both girls knew there was more meaning to those words.

"You were looking?"

Brittany nodded and smiled.

"Let me guess, Quinn sent out a search party."

"You know her well."

"They have no faith in my impulse ability." Santana shook her head, still sniffling. "I'm not like I was in high school."

"They're just worried about you." Brittany soothed, rubbing the Latina's back.

"I'm sorry about last night. And now. I'm not usually so much of a little whining bitch." Santana held her head in her hands, "Ugh, I feel like Kurt."

"It's okay, really."

"No, it's not. You've barely known me for a week and I've managed to cry on you topless. Oh my god, I cried on you topless."

Brittany chuckled. Santana looked up, "I'm sorry you had to see the twins…"

"It was bound to happen sooner or later."

Santana's eyes went wide and her jaw went slack. Brittany realized her fault and quickly continued. "I mean, we live on the same floor, share a bathroom. Privacy is pretty limited. But I didn't actually see them so, it's okay." It was true; Brittany hadn't really seen them at all. Santana's wet hair had covered her chest and she was pressed into her the rest of the night anyway.

"Uh oh, y-yeah." Santana stammered.

"So, you're good?" Brittany smiled playfully, "Not gonna start stealing road signs or bring out your baseball bat?"

Santana groaned. "Tina." She spat knowingly. "Holy mother of God, I'll kill her. SUCH a gossip."

"You're one badass Santana Lopez."

"Guilty. Now come on, if I play my sympathy cards right I might be able to get Rachel to make French toast. Oh and you might want to tell Quinn to call off the search party."

"Got it. So, do you want to catch the train home?" Brittany asked and Santana cocked an eyebrow in confused question. "Cause someone told me you're an expert at trying to get to platform nine and three quarters."

Santana smiled sheepishly. Brittany watched as she turned to the piano and played with the keys absently. Brittany was good at reading emotion through body language and as Santana sat slouched and deflated Brittany could read her like an open book. Sad Santana was not something Brittany liked and she was going to do something about it.

"Come on my little arsonist, I've got an idea."

Santana followed Brittany without argument and Brittany played out her great idea in her head.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Attention, attention!" Brittany sang to her roommates. "I have an idea."

"Brittany, I already told you, topless Tuesdays is NOT a good idea." Rachel said and Brittany pouted.

"No, the idea is operation 'cheer up Santana.'" The girls nodded and listened for further details.

"Each of us has to pick an activity to do to cheer up Santana. It can be whatever we want but the aim of the game is to find the dimple smile." Brittany said.

"Sorry, the what?" Quinn asked.

Santana merely sat in her seat looking shocked.

"Um, well, San has this smile that shows her dimples and it's like her happy _happy_ smile, so…"

"How do you know that? I didn't even know that." Mercedes asked.

Brittany shrugged. "I pay attention to detail. Anyway I thought Rachel, Tina, Sugar and Mercedes could do their activities today and Quinn and I can do ours tomorrow."

"Fine by me." Mercedes said, putting up her hand. "I'm taking ya'll clubing."

"Original." Tina snickered and Mercedes pushed her playfully.

"I'll take you guys shopping!" Sugar announced."

"Quinn, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rachel yelled.

"I think I'm thinking what you're thinking!"

"Sing off!" Rachel yelped at the same time Quinn yelled "Bake off!"

They rolled their eyes at each other.

Tina whispered in Rachel's ear and Rachel nodded vigorously "Rach and I have to do…something but you girls have fun shopping at we'll meet up with you later."

"Subtle." Santana scoffed as they both bolted out the door. "Do I get a say in this?" She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Nope." Brittany grinned and wondered if a person could be any cuter.

"SHOPPING!" Sugar hollered and Santana dragged herself upstairs to change.

Brittany went with Sugar to her car and Quinn and Mercedes waited for Santana.

"Sugar your car is totally cool!" Brittany exclaimed, impressed by the bright shade of pink. Both girls got in the car and Sugar grinned and clapped her hands together at the compliment.

The other three girls made their way into the apartment car lot through the elevator and Sugar leaned out her window. "Get in losers, we're going shopping." Santana smiled at the mean girls quote. She loved mean girls.

They piled into the car and Sugar sped off. She was, in fact, a horrendous driver. Brittany seriously feared for her life and regretted her decision to ride shot gun. Santana had broken out into Spanish a few times and that didn't seem to be letting up. Sugar swerved violently and Santana let out a swirl of español.

"¿cómo esta chica tiene una licencia…Santana shook her head. "Me veo obligado a sentarse en un coche de Barbie… y luego obligado a soportar la conducción y el canto. esto no está ayudando, idiotas." Santana whinned.

"S, quit complaining and I know you're insulting us! You have that look in your eye." Quinn smacked her.

"derecha. la rubia en el asiento delantero no es un idiota. el resto de ustedes son."

The girls had a good morning shopping at a busy mall. Sugar bought Santana a sexy red dress she had tried on, Mercedes bought her favourite since high school, cherry slushy and large pretzel. Quinn bought her a book. Something about a Buda. Brittany wanted to buy something for her too but wasn't sure what. She scoured the shops they went into, nothing catching her eye. Until they went into a gaming store to where Santana bought a video game for the boys. Brittany discreetly bought what she saw but once it was in her arms, she realized there was no way she could hide it. So she decided to give it straight to Santana.

"Hey San, I got you something." Santana bit her lip and smiled.

"Really? You didn't have to."

"Yup and I wanted to." Brittany handed over the box and Santana let out a little yelp.

"No fucking way."

It was an old school, old style limited edition poker set. It had a leather case and chunky chips with cards that matched the pattern on the case. Yeah, it had cost Brittany a bit but for the look on Santana's face, she would have paid five times the price.

Santana looked up at Brittany with a big smile. "Thanks so much Britt."

"You're welcome." Brittany rocked back and forth on her heels, unable to control her own smile.

They spent another hour ambling round the mall. Santana won Brittany a toy duck on one of those claw machines and Brittany squealed in excitement. By the time they decided to go home it was almost two in the afternoon.

"Well, I have to admit, that was pretty fun. Thanks for the idea Sugs." Santana said. "But, I'm sorry. I'm driving us home."

Sugar pouted but didn't object. Neither did anyone else. Mercedes called shotgun before Brittany even thought about it. Dang, she really had to up her game, especially when Santana was the one driving.

When they got to the apartment there was a note written in Rachel's neat penmanship.

_Come to the auditorium. We have a surprise…_

"Oh, I wonder what it is." Brittany clapped her hands excitedly.

"Come on newbie. You're about to witness your first Glee performance." Mercedes pulled at Brittany's arm.

Santana hung her head. "Ugh, this is _so_ something Tina and Berry would do."

XXXXXXXXX

Brittany entered the empty auditorium and followed the other girls, taking a seat in the front row. She couldn't help but notice the way Santana awkwardly overtook Sugar so she could sit by her. Cute.

Santana huffed as she sat down. Once the five girls were seated Sam and Puck entered the stage both with guitars. Brittany noticed a few band guys in the back as well.

And then they started singing.

"I've been waiting on the sunset  
Bills on my mindset  
I can't deny they're getting high" Sam sung looking straight at Santana and strumming on his guitar while drums and piano played in the back ground.

"Higher than my income  
My income's breadcrumbs  
I've been trying to survive  
The glow that the sun gives  
Right around sunset  
Helps me realize" Puck sang with a little more rock, winking at Santana who rolled her eyes.

"This is just a journey  
Drop your worries  
You are gonna turn out fine.  
Oh, you'll turn out fine.  
Fine, oh, you'll turn out fine." They sang together and Brittany couldn't help but marvel and their voices.

The rest of the group emerged from the side singing and dancing

"But you gotta keep your head up, oh,  
And you can let your hair down, eh.  
You gotta keep your head up, oh,  
And you can let your hair down, eh.  
I know it's hard, know it's hard,  
To remember sometimes,  
But you gotta keep your head up, oh,  
And you can let your hair down, eh."

Quinn, Mercedes and Sugar all ran to join the group on stage but Santana and Brittany stayed sitting down.

"I've got my hands in my pockets,  
Kickin' these rocks.  
It's kinda hard to watch this life go by.  
I'm buyin' in the skeptics,  
Skeptics mess with,  
The confidence in my eyes" Blaine grinned

"I'm seeing all the angles,  
Starts to get tangled  
I start to compromise  
My life and the purpose.  
Is it all worth it,  
Am I gonna turn out fine?" Kurt gracefully sang. Brittany thought he had the voice of an angel. She also thought that maybe there was more meaning behind those words for Kurt specifically. Blaine clasped his shoulder and smiled proudly.

The whole group did the chorus, Mike dancing around with Tina and Rachel and Quinn twirling in their sun dresses.

"Only rainbows after rain  
The sun will always come again.  
It's a circle, circling,  
Around again, it comes around again.  
I say only rainbows after rain  
The sun will always come again.  
It's a circle, circling,  
Around again, it comes around" Tina and Rachel sang this together, as the group danced gleefully together.

Brittany noticed some form of choreography from Mike, Sam and puck but everyone else just kinda did their own thing. The weird thing was it really worked. The group finished up the song and Brittany glanced at Santana who had a small smile. Brittany stood and clapped the group. 'whooping' at their great and mostly improvised performance.

"Okay, someone help me out here cause I'm drowning in all of this cheese." Santana mocked playfully. "But apart from that, it was pretty damn good and I hate you guys for knowing how to cheer me up. Anybody would think you're my friends."

Sam and Puck jumped down of the stage to hug Santana and ruffle her hair and soon it was one big group hug. Brittany getting picked up and shoved in the mix by Mike.

XXXXXXX

"This place is pumping tonight!" Sam grinned when they entered the thriving club.

"Yeah, it's one of the best nights this week." Quinn answered. "Our tables are over there." Quinn led the large group to a couple of reserved booths overlooking the dance floor. The perks of working at a club.

"I'll get the first round." Puck yelled and everyone cheered.

Not two minutes later he was back with a tray of shots, handing them out. "To a good night out!" Puck raised his shot glass and quickly downed the clear liquid. The rest of the group followed.

"UGH, I keep forgetting I need a few drinks in me before I start doing that." Tina said with scrunched up face. Mike leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"Drinks sound good. Wana get some?" Brittany asked Tina who nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her to the bar. Tina grinned at the bartender and co-worker, ordering the house favorite for everyone and using her employee discount. "Start a tab." Tina said and the guy nodded.

"I can't believe you work here. It's so cool!" Brittany grinned.

"Yeah, it is cool. I love my job most of the time."

"What's the music like on a Saturday night?"

"Great, there's this new up and coming DJ running tracks here tonight. She's really original."

Brittany nodded and sucked approvingly on the drink she had been handed. She felt a hand on her lower back, feeling a tingling sensation shooting through her spine.

"Need some help with the drinks?" Santana asked close to her ear.

"Yes please." Tina answered, handing her and Brittany a couple each to carry back over.

"Having fun?" Brittany asked into Santana's ear. The music was getting loud now.

Santana mouthed 'what?'

Brittany shook her head like it didn't matter. Santana looked disappointed.

They had reached their table and placed the drinks down, everyone thanking them.

"Who wants to dance?" Brittany shouted and was met with the agreement of almost everyone in the group. They made their way to the dance floor and immediately immersed themselves into the crowd of pulsing bodies. Sam and Mike danced hard, pulling out all their moves. Sam some kind of body roll to which all the girls cheered and Mike some robotic moves that were impressive and comedic. The music picked up and Brittany lost herself in it. She had never had trouble finding the rhythm or staying in time so she let her body do whatever. She felt large hands grab her waist from behind and momentarily panicked. Brittany looked back to find Puck with a goofy grin. She relaxed and let him dance with her. They were friends after all. Brittany shut her eyes and let the music seep through her. Music was so wonderful. Like another language. A language that is much easier to understand.

Brittany shivered as she felt warm, smaller hands encircle her waist from the front, and an even warmer, silky smooth body press against her.

"Hey." Santana said into her ear

"Hi." Brittany grinned.

Brittany stayed in the Pucktana sandwich for a couple songs. Santana had amazing rhythm and danced easily with her. Puck fell into step without a problem. It should have been awkward but it was one of the most comfortable things Brittany had ever felt.

Brittany looked over Santana's shoulder to where Quinn, Tina and Sugar were grinding up on each other while Mike and Sam watched with the biggest grins ever. Finn danced super awkwardly and Rachel danced in front of him. She was surprisingly good. The rest of the gang were just within sight, talking animatedly to each other at the table.

Puck mumbled something about the little boy's room and moved off towards the bathroom. Not before slipping a happy smile Brittany's way.

"I gotta pee." Brittany said.

"Charming." Santana smirked. "Meet me back at the table."

Brittany nodded and moved through the crowed to do her business. When she got back to the table, the group was sitting and chatting over the music. They had been talking for a few minutes when Sugar nudged Brittany.

"Brittany, I think you have a secret admirer." Sugar chuckled.

"Where?" Brittany asked slowly.

Quinn, Mercedes, Tina and Sugar all tilled their head subtly to the right. But because they did it at the same time it was very, very obvious.

As if on cue, a tall, dark haired hansom man walked over to their table confidently.

"Hi." He said, staring straight at Brittany.

"Erm, hi.." Brittany said, unsure of what to do.

"I was wondering if maybe you would like to dance."

The dude was nice as far as Brittany could tell but that didn't mean she wanted to dance with him. Most guys couldn't keep up with her anyway.

"I'm fine, thank you." Brittany chanced a look back and immediately noticed Santana. She was glaring blatantly at TD&H.

"Can ask why not?" The guy crinkled his forehead.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm talking with my friends here and-"

"Oh, don't worry about it Brittany." Tina smiled. "You go dance."

Brittany had to admit, the guy was very good looking and usually she would have gone for it but not tonight.

"No really I-"

"Stop being all shy and get on that dance floor!" Mercedes yelled with a wink.

Sugar literally pushed her into the guy's arms. "Go!"

"But I-" it was too late, the guy was already leading her towards the music. He was being gentle and he was making sure no-one so much as touched the dancer. Brittany sighed and told herself just a couple dances and she'd be back to Santana. Ummm, back to the _group. _The dance was nice. He was a gentleman and she was lady. At the end he asked for her number and she brushed him off. He looked a little hurt but then shrugged his shoulders and said it was nice meeting her.

"Where's Santana and Quinn?" Brittnay asked when she got back to the table.

"Gone home. Where's tall, dark and handsome?" Rachel questioned.

Brittany just shrugged, deflated at the fact that Santana had gone home. Without so much as a goodbye.

The rest of the time at the club was average. Brittany couldn't get into it. She felt like she was missing something essential so have a good time. She knew exactly what.

They taxied home and noisily made their way into the apartment and into their rooms. Mike helped a drunk Tina and Finn helped a very drunk Rachel. As she stumbled past Brittany thought she heard a faint, "it tastes like pink, it does, it tastes like pink!" Brittany chucked, glad she hadn't had much to drink. The buzz of what she did have had long since worn off and see was anxious to get to bed.

Once free of makeup and in her shorts and a baggy t-shirt, Brittany slipped into bed and shut her eyes.

1:58

'Ugh, I really need to sleep.' Brittany thought as she tossed and turned in her bed. She hadn't been able to sleep since they got home and the house was now silent, everyone sleeping. Well, almost everyone.

"Marco, NO! PLEASE!" A scared shout sounded.

Brittany sat bolt upright in her bed. Holy shit had that come from Santana's room? It must have.

Brittany jumped out of bed and sped into Santana's room. Santana was sitting up, her lamp on and eyes wide.

"You okay?" Brittany asked softly.

"Nightmare." Santana shook her head.

"Need a cuddle buddy?" Brittany asked hesitantly

Santana nodded her head and Brittany slipped underneath warm covers.

"Second night in a row you're been in my bed." Santana murmured.

"Good thing I like it here." Woah, word vomit.

Santana flicked off her lamp and turned to Brittany, her mind still a little fuzzy from her graphic dream.

"Come here." Brittany said with open arms.

Santana hesitated. "I kinda woke up in a cold sweat…"

"Like I care. You better get over here before I make you."

Santana fell forward into Brittany's arms and Brittany hugged her tight.

"Do you get nightmares often?"

"Lately. Yeah, a bit."

"Anything keep them away."

"Haven't found anything yet."

Brittany hummed and Santana listened to the beating of her heart through her chest.

"Why'd you leave the club tonight?"

"No reason. I was ready to go home, that's all."

Brittany nodded and wondered if it was a blessing or not that San was such a terrible liar.

"Tomorrow, you _will_ be cheered up. I swear."

Santana's hands griped Brittany body. "Our dancing was pretty swag. That cheered me up."

"It was and I'm glad."

"How was it dancing with…that guy." Santana tried and miserably failed to hide her contempt.

"Nowhere near as good as your dancing. As _our_ dancing."

"Score. Did he ask for your number?"

"He did. But he was really rude and touchy when we were dancing so I said no." Brittany wondered if Santana could see though her lie."

Santana hummed happily.

"Night San." Brittany yawned.

"Night Britt Britt."

And for the second night, Santana fell asleep in Brittany's arms.

XXXXXXXXXX

**The songs are Broken by lifehouse (Santana sings)**

**And Gotta keep your head up by Andy Grammer. **

**Spanish Santana says- "****How****this girl has****a license…" *shakes head**

"**I****am forced to****sit in a****Barbie****car****... and then****forced to endure this****driving****and singing.****This is not****helping,****idiots"**

"**Right,****the blonde****in the front seat****is not an idiot****. ****The rest of you****are."**

**I have the chapter after this one ready to go so it'll be up very soon. Let's try to reach 100 reviews! That would be awesome. Next chapter Brittany takes the team go…p***t******G! ( see if you can work it out. remember, Brittany likes extreme sports and activities, jus' sayin')**

**ALSO, when Santana sings 'Broken' she's half singing about her brother and half about Brittany. If you're clever you can work out what lyrics are meant for who. I thought the songs was perfect for the situation. love you all**


	7. cheering up santana part 2

**I have a feeling you guys are gonna like this one… thanks for the wicked reviews! They make me update faster so here you go you good things.**

**Chapter 7: Operation cheer up Santana part 2**

"Quinn!" Brittany declared.

"I agree." Santana said through a mouthful of cookie.

"I hate you guys." Rachel scowled.

"What? You can't be a hold out on the chocolate chips, that's instant point deduction." Santana quipped.

The girls were having a baking morning, letting Brittany and Santana test the products seeing as Santana was the one they were trying to cheer up and it was clear that Brittany had no clue when it came to kitchen matters.

"Next, next, next!" Santana banged her hands on the table and Mercedes presented her with their freshly baked cakes.

"Best. Breakfast. Ever!" Brittany shouted.

After eating till they felt sick Brittany and Santana called a stop to the baking and moved to help clean up the mess. When Brittany grabbed the flour, she stopped in thought.

"Don't. you. dare." Santana said when she noticed her stilled movements.

Brittany mouthed 'what' innocently and continued to pack up.

Santana chuckled. It I had been a fun morning although things had become a tad heated between Quinn and Rachel in the cookie round..

"_What are you talking about? Cookies are not meant to be this dense!" Quinn sneered, struggling to snap one of Rachel's cookies._

"_Are they meant to look like they just endured a round of soggy biscuit?" Rachel yelled, crumbling one of Quinn's moist cookies in her hand._

"_Oh, you did NOT just say that to me and my cookies."_

"_ah huh." Rachel licked her lips and nodded like a crazy, her bangs flicking into her eyes._

_Brittany and Santana looked at each other and immediately started chanting "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" _

Yeah it had been a good morning.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Brittany, where are you taking us for your activity?" Tina asked with a curious smile

"I'm not telling you yet but I was thinking we could go this afternoon. If we leave around lunch then that would be better. We'll have to take a couple cars cause it's out of the city a bit but it should only take a half hour or so to get there."

"Should we be scared?" Mercedes chuckled.

Brittany tilted her head to the side in thought. "Um...yes?"

Mercedes wacked her palm into her face, "Are we going to _die_ during this activity?"

"It's highly unlikely." Brittany stated.

"Who should take cars?" Quinn asked.

"I was hoping the boys would want to come too so I'll take mine, Blaine can take his and Kurt's and one more, preferably with lots of seats."

"I'll take the rover." Santana added.

"Great. I'll ring the boys and we'll aim to leave around lunch." Quinn smiled, grabbing her phone.

"Will the boys come if they don't know where they're going and what they're doing?" Rachel asked.

"Hmm, good point, I don't know." Quinn said thoughtfully.

"Tell them it's human COD." Brittany said expertly.

Quinn looked at her funny. "Will they understand what that means? Cause I certainly don't."

"Oh, they will." Brittany grinned.

XXXXXXXXXX

The girls entered the apartment car lot through the elevator and all but Brittany were surprised to find that every single one of the boy's was already there. They were checking out a black Audi R8 that was parked up along the far wall. As they got closer, the girls started picking up on snippets of their conversation.

"Check out the rims…"

"I wonder what the engine sounds like…"

Puck who had his hands either side of his face, peering into the window added, "Dude! You should see the sound system. It's sick!"

When the boys noticed the girls they straightened up a bit but it was clear they were all still drooling over the sleek car that was a new addition to the lot.

"Who's driving?" Brittany addressed the boys.

Blaine stuck up his hand and Brittany handed him a sheet of paper. "Follow me and San but if you get separated, directions are there." Brittany smiled.

"So human COD…I'm guessing that's-" Sam started

"Don't say it out loud!" Brittany pleaded. "If they know, I'm pretty sure they would bail." Brittany gestured towards Sugar who was quite literally filling her nails and Mercedes who was fixing her hair.

"Good point." Sam grinned and winked. "Let's go."

"Britt, where's your car?" Santana asked

"Um, well, it's.." Brittany held up her keys and pressed the unlock button. The sleek black Audi beeped signalling it was unlocked.

Everyone stood shocked. Puck and Sam broke the trance first both calling shot gun simultaneously. They glared at each other before sprinting to the car, determined to kick the front tired first and claim victory. Puck shoved at Sam but Sam was a fraction too quick and ended up winning the race, pumping his fist in the air victoriously.

Mike and Finn followed and jumped in the back seat with puck.

"That's a really nice car, Brittany." Kurt said. "I mean, I _do not_ know my cars, but that…" he whistled and Brittany smiled proudly.

Blaine took Kurt and Artie and all of the girls piled in with Santana seeing as Brittany's car was already full.

"This is AH-mazing." Sam gestured to the car once Brittany was in. she started in up and smoothly pulled out with Santana's black land rover following behind her.

"How did you get a car like this?" Puck asked bluntly.

"My parents gave this to my grandparents originally but they didn't want it. it goes way too fast for them to handle and they didn't want something that sticks out as much as this does. I worked for them all through last year and they let me use this in the meantime. They officially gave it to me as a present when I got in to Juilliard."

"How does it handle?" Finn asked

"It's great. The suspension and shock absorbers take in literally every bump. It feels like driving on a cloud." Brittany shrugged. She checked her rear view mirror to make sure Santana was still behind her and caught Santana's eye. The girl smiled sweetly and she returned the favour, her stomach doing a little flip.

"You into cars and that sorta thing?"

"Yup. I'm basically a seventeen year old boy. I like cars, Xbox, comics, baseball, paintball. Which is where we're going today." the boys cheered happily.

"Man, you're like the coolest chick ever!" Puck shouted.

"Mhmm."

"You like comics?" Sam asked with bright eyes.

"Of course. They're an easier version of a book with cool drawings. They're like adult picture books." Brittany smiled sheepishly.

Sam laughed at that. "They so are. I have a collection if you wanna come see it sometime?"

"Sure."

"So, how do you know about this paintball place?" Puck asked

"My cousin Jemma actually owns it. It's a pretty cool place. I'm kinda worried though…I don't think wheelchairs are allowed in the paintball arena." Brittany bit her lip.

"Is your cousin Jemma hot?"

"…yeah…"

"Then Artie will be just fine entertaining himself with her. He's okay with the fact that he can't do some stuff."

Brittany nodded her head but still felt pretty bad about it.

"Hey, don't worry. If you want we can get Arties favourite take out tonight to make up for it." Sam said.

"Yeah okay."

"How are we gonna split the teams?" Puck asked. "Can I bags you in my team Blondie?" Puck smirked.

"Ah, actually, I was thinking boys against girls."

"You're sure about that?" Puck asked in a rather condescending tone.

"I'm sure." Brittany said with a knowing smile. She checked her mirror again as was meet by the sight of all the girls in Santana's car singing dramatically and Santana shaking her head and giggling. Brittany felt another set of butterflies swoop around inside of her.

They pulled up to a set of lights and the guys in the car next to them openly leered at the car and then the driver. They had a nice car of their own, probably just as nice as her Audi but from the angle, Brittany couldn't tell what it was.

The passenger window rolled down to match Brittany's. The man whistled through his teeth. "That's a nice car. You sure that a _woman _can handle a car like that?"

Brittany stayed silent but felt Sam bristle beside her.

"I'm serious dall, unless there's a kitchen in that car, I think you might be lost." The men in the car laughed at the terrible joke.

"Listen here you little-"Puck hissed but was cut off by a series of loud honks. The guys the car jumped and one even yelped. Brittany and Sam broke into laughter at how pathetic they looked. Brittany looked behind her to see Santana doing the thumbs up while still honking the horn and Quinn giving dirty looks to the car. Guess they knew what was up. The guy revved his engine in a lame attempt to regain any sense of manliness.

The lights changed and Brittany floored it, easily burning off the jackasses. The guys in her car whooped and maturely flipped off the other car. Brittany made sure San was still behind her before continuing to weave her way through skilfully the streets.

When they got to the Paintball place, the boys gapped. Brittany had to admit, it was high end for paintball. They all piled out and stood by the front door to the office.

"Paintball?" Santana said with one eyebrow cocked and arms crossed.

"Yeah…" Brittany said cautiously, waiting for a reaction.

Santana looked at the place for a second before breaking into a grin. "Awesome."

"Oh yes, this will certainly do." Rachel said making her way to the front of the group, tying her long hair back from her face. This girl meant business.

"You're very surprising Brittany." Quinn said as she walked past.

Brittany looked back at Quinn but the other blonde was now talking with Tina and Mercedes who both seemed to be mouthing "no, no, no, no, no, no."

Brittany walked up to Artie, not sure of what to say but wanting to apologise for him not being able to do it.

"I know what you're gonna say, so _I'm_ gonna say, don't sweat it." Artie said before she reached him.

"I'm sorry…" Brittany said nervously.

"It's cool, really. As long as you do one thing for me." Artie grinned.

"Sure, what is it?" Brittany asked.

"You gotta let me in on some of those mad rapping skill secrets yo."

Brittany grinned at the goof ball in front of her. Arite was such a wangster.

"Anytime."

When the group got to the front desk, Jemma, Brittany's cousin, was all smiles. Moving around the counter to hug the girl.

"Hey little cuz, I've missed you!"

"Me too." Brittany grinned, she loved Jemma. "It's been too long. These are my friends and new roommates." Brittany introduced everyone and felt a surge of pride when she got to introduce Santana. she didn't know exactly why. Jemma smiled at everyone before taking them through to the briefing room. She went over basic rules and gear requirement as well as some safety stuff. The game was simple. Capture the flag from the opposing team's base and bring it back to your base. Brittany told the group she thought girls on guys would be best and everyone immediately agreed.

"I don't know about this…" Tina said. She looked paler than usual.

"Tina, you'll be fine. You've got us to protect you." Brittany assured her.

Mercedes looked unsure. "This isn't really my gig, I might sit this one-"

"Look, Whezzy, you're not getting out of this one. Come on, you are a strong, independent woman…what would Aretha do?" Santana said over her shoulder.

Mercedes nodded slowly, more confident now.

"I'll take you guys through to get changed." Jemma said and Brittany fell into step next to her.

"You didn't tell them about the walkies." Brittany pointed out. The 'walkies' were a walkie talkie radio system headset inside of the helmets they we required to wear while playing. It meant they could talk to their teammates no matter where they were in the paintball arena. What? It was high tech paintball.

"They'll figure it out soon enough. Besides, I thought you could have your own fun with that."

Brittany smirked. "Ladies in here," Jemma pointed to the changing room. "Guys down the end. Once you're ready come out front and it's game on."

Sugar squealed excitedly. Brittany had been surprised by Sugar. Honestly, she thought Sugar was going to hate the idea of getting sweaty and dirty but so far the girl had been all for it. As had Rachel. Rachel had gone all George of the jungle on their asses, seriously, Brittany was getting a little scared by the intensity of the girl.

"God help us all." Quinn squeaked as the girls geared up in their paint ball stuff. Full camouflage overalls with blotchy paint marks.

"Quinn, don't worry. We got your back." Brittany grinned.

"Speak for yourself girl. If shit goes down I'm making like a hockey player and getting the puck out of there." Mercedes spoke up.

"Quit whining, Cede's." Santana snapped. "You need to take a concrete pill and harden thee fuck up. You too Malabo Barbie" San stared pointedly at Quinn.

"Hear, hear!" Rachel shouted, giving Santana I violent nod. "Personally, I think we need to annihilate these boys." Rachel rubbed her gun affectionately which looked rather suggestive even though she didn't mean it.

"Agreed. Mission kicking ball sack is a go." Santana chirped.

Brittany tugged her very high tech paintball helmet on and watched as Santana did the same. Brittany thought the fact that they had little walkie talk radio's embedded in them was super cool. All it took was a push of the button on the inside, by the strap, and you could take to your teammates. Brittany watched as Santana slid her helmet on and secured it around her chin. None of the other girls hat their helmets on yet so Brittany reached up and pushed the talk button.

"Hey San." Brittany said softly.

Santana jolted, not ready or prepared to have someone's voice played through her helmet air piece. Brittany watched as she swung her head back and forth, trying to find the source of sound, not realising it was in her own helmet. Santana caught Brittany's eye across the room and Britt tapped on her helmet.

Brittany saw Santana mouth 'no way'

"Cool, huh?" Brittany asked and this time Santana didn't jolt.

Santana mimicked Brittany's actions and easily found the correct button.

"This is so cool." Santana grinned, her voice playing straight into Brittany's ears.

"Yeah, it's like, a step up from normal paintball. I guess it makes it more intense."

Brittany loved the fact that they were having their own conversation without the others knowing.

"See that little red switch.." Brittany pointed to the button on her own helmet. "Yeah that's the one. That button turns off the transmitter so if you get sick of listening to anyone, you can flick it off. Wanna see something funny?" Brittany grinned.

"Always."

"Okay, turn your talkie off and watch this."

Santana did as she was told and the quiet static that has accompanied Brittany's voice moments earlier disappeared.

Santana watched as Brittany went to Rachel, Tina, Mercedes and Sugar, handing them their helmets and flicking on the walkie talkies on herself without them realising. As soon as they all had them on Brittany turned to Santana and gave her thumbs up. Then Brittany screamed at the top of her lungs. It was muffled to Santana but it blasted through the other girls headphones full bore.

Tina yelped and jumped into Mercedes arms who dropped her to whip the helmet off of her head, Rachel got a huge fright and turned, running flat out into a wall while Sugar when ridged, her arms snapping to her side and then fell backwards, her helmeted head pulling her entire body down. Quinn, who didn't have her helmet on yet looked them like they were cray-cray.

Santana and Brittany doubled over in laughter as they watched. San grabbed a hold of the wall to keep herself from falling, clutching her stomach as she laughed. Brittany did feel a bit bad for scaring the girls but it was totally worth it.

Once the grumbling had stopped, Brittany showed them how to work the talkies and all of them, even Mercedes got excited. They went out front to meet with the boys and Jemma who took them to the start gate.

"You know the rules so have fun and play fair." Jemma said.

"Wait, can we have a team talk first?" Mike asked and Rachel seconded it.

"Sure." Jemma said, laughing at how intense this group was.

"Okay, ladies." Rachel shouted, pulling the girls into a huddle. "Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here tonight, girl's. That's what you've earned here, tonight. One game-"

"Back the truck up." Santana held her hand up. "Are you quoting the speech the guy does in that movie about the ice hockey…ah…" She clicked her fingers, trying to remember the name of the movie.

"Miracle." Brittany said.

"Miracle! You're quoting coach Brooks speech in Miracle aren't you. You're super lame."

"I thought it was fitting…" Rachel said quietly.

"You've gone all Rambo on our asses, Berry"

"Rambo…that's a great idea!" Brittany shouted.

"What is?"

"Code names."

The girls nodded in thought.

"I'll be stalking chicken." Brittany said helpfully.

"Pink panther." Sugar put up her hand.

"Mercedes can be big momma." Santana said and Mercedes's rolled her eyes.

"Satan." Mercedes said pointing at the Latina who spread her arms. "If I'm big momma then you're Satan."

"Ugh, fine."

"Quinn can be eagle because she's majestic." Brittany pursed her lips. "Yup, eagle."

"Cool." Quinn said, tilting her head to the side and smiling.

"I'll be Asian sensation." Tina said.

"I was just about to say that." Santana said, raising her hand for a high five.

"Rachel should be Rambo." Sugar said and the group nodded in approval.

"Bring it on!" Rachel yelled before squatting down, dipping her finger in mud and smearing one line across both cheeks.

"Oh Jesus." Santana said as she watched.

"You girls ready to get an ass whooping?" Finn shouted.

"In your dreams, baby face. Don't you think I haven't handled a _real_ gun before? Santana shouted back and took a menacing step forward. Finn gulped.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Bringing it, Lopez." Puck sneered.

"Consider it _brung." _

Jemma opened the doors and stood aside with Artie to watch the group sprinting into the arena. Brittany and Santana both laughed when Sugar shouted "WE. ARE. SPARTA!" and sprinted forward.

The arena was a mix of trees, bushes, mud, gravel, grass, concrete and wood barriers as well as big inflatable obstacles. It was big with lots to hide behind. Brittany had been here before but being back in the environment gave her a rush of adrenaline that she had always loved and craved.

She got split up from the girls and crouched low, surveying her surroundings before muttering, 'let the games begin.'

XXXXXXXXXXX

They had been playing for a good forty minutes and Brittany had worked up a sweat. She had shot Mike once and Sam twice. They had both tried to get her back but she had been too sneaky and quick. She hadn't been hit yet and she had only got together with Tina and Mercedes who had cowered behind her and relied on her pin point aim to get them out of a tricky situation with Puck. Tina and Mercedes had scurried off together soon after.

"Eagle, where are you?" She heard Rachel's voice come through but no reply from Quinn. "Eagle?"

Brittany was about to enquire on Quinn's absence when she saw a smaller girl standing and reloading her gun not far away. It was easy to tell by her small but strong stature and lean body that it was Santana. Brittany started jogging towards her when she noticed Puck with his gun pointed towards the Latina. _Then_ she started full out sprinting.

"San, watch out!" Brittany yelled into her headpiece as she sprinted towards the girl. Puck had set up aim at her from across the park and was about to fire.

XXXXXXXXX

"Whaaa-?" Santana asked, turning slightly towards the blond

"Ommph" Santana grunted when she was bundled to the ground behind a barrier, Brittany's body pinning her down. She heard the familiar 'pop pop' as paintballs were fired, and thought she saw some flecks of colour whizz past above the barrier.

"You gotta be more careful." Brittany said, her concerned voice buzzing though Santana's helmet.

"Y-yeah." Was all Santana managed to squeak out.

"You okay in there?" Brittany raised her hand to tap lightly on Santana's helmet.

Santana couldn't answer. Not when Brittany's body was pushed against hers like this.

"San?" Brittany asked confused. Santana lay silent, trying to comprehend the rush of adrenaline shooting through her body.

Brittany defied the number one rule of the paintball arena and took off her helmet, shaking her blond hair free. Santana watched as it caught the sunlight, giving each strand a slightly different tone to the next. Brittany leant down and flicked up Santana's helmet visor. Brittany looked Santana square in the eye and Santana felt so unbearably exposed. She caught her breath at just how close Brittany was and Brittany smiled and bit her lip.

"You okay out here San?" Brittany asked softly, her face not far from the Latina's.

Santana nodded yes, mesmerised by the blue eyes gazing down at her. They stayed like that for a second, mesmerised by the way the sun bounced off the others skins, making them glow. The way the others lips were slightly parted as both panted from the….exercise. The way the others body felt, flush against them.

Brittany brought up her hand and brushed a small fleck of dirt off Santana cheek, thinking that something so insignificant as a piece of dirt had no place on somewhere so amazing as Santana's cheek.

And then Brittany kissed Santana. She just did it. Brittany leant in slowly, making sure not to scare the girl, and kissed her sweetly on the lips. It was soft and sensual with Brittany taking Santana's top lip in hers and Santana following suit. It was so gentle, like nothing Santana had ever experienced before. Brittany's lips caressed her own delicately before pulling away, an almost inaudible pop sounding as she did so. Santana was amazed. The kiss hadn't been sloppy and wet, nor had it been dry like Santana had experienced so many times before. It was perfect. Brittany's lips were perfect. Brittany looked down at Santana and then looked away shyly, the light catching her eyes and tuning them a light shade of turquoise. Santana bit her lip as she watched her.

"I hope…I mean-" Brittany Stared. "Was that…okay? It's just you looked so scared before and I didn't want you to be scared. I wanted you to feel protected. And I know that _that_ is a weird way of-" Brittany blurted.

"It's okay, Britt." Santana smiled, some confidence returning. "I do feel less scared now."

"You do?" Brittany asked, slipping off Santana's body.

"Of course. Now, let's go kick some Puckerman ass. He almost shot me just before." Santana said before the situation could become too serious. Brittany looked relieved.

Brittany pulled on her helmet, flicking down Santana's visor. "Santana, I'm…real sorry if you…I'm just" Brittany shook her head, looking for the words.

Santana grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about it. We can talk about this later but right now, I really wanna see if Finn will explode like a blubber cream pie when I pop twenty caps in his ass."

Brittany giggled. "I got you covered."

"Let's do this thing!"

Santana ducked and weaved her way to a patch of thick bushes with Brittany in hot pursuit.

"Big momma, come in big momma." Santana chanted into her head set.

"What is it Satan?" Mercedes voice came through.

"We need eyes on road kill and free willy."

"Who?"

"Puck and Finn." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Tina and I can't see anything right now…"

"What! Why?"

"You know that dumpster by the entrance to the arena?"

"Yeah…"

"We're in there."

"WHAT? Did the boys lock you in there?" Santana hissed angrily.

"No…this is voluntary. We saw Rachel take a hit before and yes she is one big ass drama queen but it looked like it hurt." Tina said.

"UGH. You girls are killing me." Santana sighed.

"Sorry San." Mercedes added.

"Stay safe." Santana said before turning to Brittany. "We need to find sugar and Rachel, meet up with them and blind side the boys." Brittany nodded.

"Rambo, Pink panther, where are you guys at?" Brittany asked into her head set.

"Stalking chicken, it's Rambo here. I am currently sitting on top of the boy's base. They don't know I'm here. Puck, Finn, Sam and Mike are hanging around the base. I've heard some very disturbing things in my stay here…"

"Rambo, hold tight. We're coming." Brittany yelled.

"Ready?" Brittany turned to Santana who nodded. "Let's go."

The girls sprinted their way through thick shrubs and up and over concrete walls scattered aimlessly around. They headed in the general direction of the boys base, keeping an eye out for Blaine or Kurt. Brittany wasn't so much worried about Kurt. He'd been unknowingly holding the gun with the nozzle pointed at himself for the better part of the game. But Blaine was sneaky and he had relatively good aim.

"Pink panther, what's your current position?" the girls heard Rachel ask.

"I'm up a tree overlooking the boy's base. I've been talking to the squirrels." Sugar sounded.

"What's the situation?"

"They just sent out Kurt and Blaine to look for us. Puck got back not so long ago and they're devising a plan. Also, quick group notice, as cute and cuddly as they look, I would like to advice you that squirrels _do_ bite."

"Jeez, Sugs. Are we gonna have to get you _another_ shot after this?" Mercedes sighed.

"I think that would be best. Mr fluffy was foaming at the mouth."

"Sugar, get out of that tree!" Rachel screamed.

"Fine." Sugar huffed. "Hey, I can see Santana and Brittany!"

Santana looked around and saw Sugar in the perfect spot, high above ground.

"Screw rabies, Sugar has an awesome vantage point. I say we bait the boys and have them come out of their base so Sugar can pick them off."

"Agreed."

"Cool."

"Sounds good."

…..

"So…"

"Who's the bait?"

"Mercedes and Sugar are out cause they're hiding out in the dumpster. Rachel's on top of the boy's base, Sugar is up the tree and Quinn's God knows where. Guess that leaves me and you." Santana said. "I'll go." Santana went to get up to move into a more clear area where the boys could see her.

"Are you kidding me?" Brittany said, softy grabbing the Latina's arm. "There is no way you're going out there. They'll shoot you. You're not getting hurt." The determination in Brittany's voice was enough to make Santana's insides quiver.

"I can handle it." Santana said as sternly as she could manage, which wasn't very stern at all.

"No. way." Brittany pulled Santana closer. "I'm going. Wait till they're out a fair way so we have a good chance of hitting them before they duck for cover."

Sugar and Rachel both said they got it but Brittany was still holding Santana's wrists.

"If this is the last time I see you…" Brittany said dramatically and Santana giggled. "Tell the kids I love them…"Brittany continued and Santana laughed and smacked her arm playfully.

"If I'm not back in five minutes…" Brittany grabbed Santana by the waist and pulled her till their helmets were touching, pelvises almost touching. "I'm probably just over there," Brittany jerked her head towards the small clearing, "covered in paint and stripped of all dignity."

Santana laughed again and pressed herself closer, pelvises touching. "You're pulling out all the clichés now aren't you?"

Brittany looked into Santana's eyes and said one last thing. "Whatever happens, don't let the rabid squirrels eat me." Santana pulled Brittany in for a tight hug before whispering "Never."

"Well, shit." Rachel said in awe. "I thought _I_ was the dramatic one."

Santana pulled back and raised her hand to flick up her visor. She grabbed Brittany's helmet in her hands and lent forward to place a soft kiss on the hard clear plastic, just over Brittany's lips. Brittany grinned so big she was seriously worried about her face potentially splitting open.

"Go forth my child." Santana commanded and with that Brittany shot out of their hiding spot and into the clearing.

"Pink panther, Rambo." Santana shouted and she lay down and set her gun up, facing the boy's base. "Brittany is sitting duck right now and-"

"Ducks for the win!" Brittany shouted.

"Look, if either of you stuff this up, imma have to go pick up aunty Snixx up from the train station cause she be travelling on the bitch town express, ya'll understand? Aim for below the belt ladies, below the belt." Santana said aggressively.

"Aim for pain!" Sugar shouted.

"That's my girl. Rambo?"

"Right, aim the li'l buddy at their… li'l buddies?"

"Britt. You're good to go." Santana said with confidence.

Brittany fired into the side of the boy's base which was basically made up of wood and corrugated iron. The pounding of paintballs exploding against the metal made the three boys inside jump and peek cautiously out the make shift window. They could clearly see Brittany standing without cover, looking like something out of brave heart.

"Dude, it's just Brittany. Let's get her!" Puck shouted stupidly.

"For real?" Sam asked as her poked his out the door.

"I say we out number her. Four on one. We got this." Puck assured the boys.

Brittany could see Rachel on top of the base and couldn't help but wonder how she made her way up there. She also wondered if a better code name for Rachel would have been spider pig..

_Spider pig, spider pig. Does whatever a spider pig does..._

"Ready boys. In three, two, one…"

Brittany gapped as four burly boys came rushing out of base and towards her. She held her ground and fired a couple of shots before losing her nerve and spinning to sprint. She heard the sound of the guns being fired and the sickening whistle of paintballs flying all around her. She floored it, hoping against hope that she wouldn't feel that sharp sting that meant she had been hit.

"Britt, we got em! We got em!" Santana shouted happily.

Brittany back tracked about fifty meters to find the boys all on the ground, groaning and clutching their junk.

"Perfect shot ladies." Rachel said as she high fived both Sugar and Santana as well as Brittany.

Brittany also noticed multiple fresh paint marks on the boy's backs which Rachel would have delivered. She was proud at how well their plan had worked and also I little concerned at just how stupid and non-strategic the boys were.

Brittany felt a searing pain in her shoulder as three pallets hit her. She half turned to look in the direction that the shots were fired and got a glimpse of Blaine, holding up his gun and taking aim. She heard the sound of the gun being fired and braced herself for more painful hits. But they never came. Brittany cracked her eyes open and saw Blaine doubled over, splattered in paint, just as Quinn emerged from a barrier behind him, grinning triumphantly. 'Quinn saves the day' Brittany thought with a grin.

"You okay Britt?" Santana asked looking at the paint splatters on her shoulder.

"Good." Brittany swung her arm and winced. Nothing she couldn't handle though.

"Quinn where have you been? We tried talking to you." Sugar asked after she jumped from the tree.

"I think my walkie broke. I think I might go see if Artie or Jemma can fix it."

"Thanks for saving my butt from more hits, eagle." Brittany said, winking.

Quinn shrugged her shoulders as if to say anytime. After Quinn went off in search of a new helmet the group played another couple rounds before calling it quits. On their way back to the main office and changing rooms, everyone was hyped up from the adrenaline. The boys were tackling each other and the girls giggling over how much they had creamed the boys. Santana fell into step next to Brittany.

"That was really fun Britt. Thank you."

Santana had a light sheen of sweat covering her forehead as well as slightly coloured cheeks. Her pony tail was dishevelled and she had a small smear of mud on her neck. Brittany thought she had never looked so beautiful.

"You welcome. I'm glad you liked it. Most girls wouldn't actually enjoy that."

"Well, I'm not most girls." Santana smiled innocently.

All Brittany could do was shake her head in wonderment. Yup, she had it bad.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Later that afternoon, the girls were back in their apartment kicking back and whining about their sore muscles and injuries they had picked up. Brittany and Santana chuckled at them. Brittany had laughed a lot today. Maybe laughed the most when they had found Kurt cooped up with Tina and Mercedes in the dumpster. She wondered if Santana had laughed as much as she had. If she was cheered up.

"San, can you come with me?" Brittany asked across the group.

"Sure." Santana answered almost nervously.

Brittany checked her watch. Yup, almost time.

Brittany led Santana out of the apartment and to the stairwell.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." Brittany grinned mysteriously. "I think if nothing else, _this_ will cheer you up."

When they reached the top floor, Brittany bounced up one more flight of stairs to the door to the roof. She pulled out a key and unlocked the heavy, metal door and pushed it open.

"How'd you get a key for up here?" Santana asked with a cute little scrunched up nose.

"Slept with the landlord."

Santana looked shocked.

"I'm kidding!" Brittany said, exasperated.

"Oh." Santana giggled.

"No, I did get them from the land lord. Told him I wanted to do some photography up here."

"Do you?"

"Maybe." Brittany smiled shyly.

Brittany went to stand at the each of the roof and gazed all around. At the buildings surrounding them, the thick strip of green in the distance that was national park, the constant flow of traffic that looked like buzzing wasps desperate to get back t to the hive but most of all, Brittany gazed at the sun as it lowered majestically in the sky.

A warm hand slipped into hers and Brittany smiled. "Sometimes you need a different perspective of things just to be able to understand them."

She felt warm fingers intertwine with her own as Santana started softly singing a part of the song that the Glee club had sung her yesterday.

"The glow that the sun gives  
Right around sunset  
Helps me realize

This is just a journey  
Drop your worries  
You are gonna turn out fine."

It seemed fitting.

Brittany smiled and unconsciously tightened her grip on Santana's hand as she listened to the velvety voice.

"Watch this." Brittany grinned.

Santana stopped looking at Brittany and almost reluctantly followed her line of sight. She gasped at what she saw.

The sun had lowered to the perfect height straight in front of them and there was a small slit in the line of buildings where it was glaring through. The golden light washed over them as they stood hand in hand. The light bathed the hundreds of building around them, the soft rays bouncing of thousands of office windows and giving the effect that they were standing in a massive crystal ball. Santana gawked at the beauty of it. They stood silent for a few minutes revelling in the warm and gentle sunlight, captivated by its beauty.

"I've been here two years and I've never seen this. I've never even thought about it." Santana mumbled as she watched the sun dip lower and almost out of view. She was still transfixed on the way the buildings had shaped the natural light to fascinatingly.

Brittany just nodded. Appreciating the soft pinkish sky the departing sun left behind.

"Do you believe in heaven?" Santana asked, catching Brittany off guard.

Brittany hummed for a second, not wanting to upset Santana but wanting to be truthful also.

Brittany sighed deeply, "No. Do you?"

"I don't know what I believe anymore."

"I think people need something to believe in and heaven isn't a bad thing to hope for." Brittany said quietly.

"What do you think happens when you die?" Santana voice was so soft made Brittany's breath catch in her throat.

"I think you stop living through a human body and start living through something else. I think you become a part of something much bigger that the world itself."

"What do you mean?" Santana asked, turning away from the dying rays of sunlight to face a another source of brightness. A much, much better one.

"Well, I think, when your time is over, your soul leaves the earth. But it's not bad thing because there's a whole big universe out there and to have the chance to be a part of something so amazing would be out of this world. In my opinion, heaven is overrated. We live in a place, in a universe that is so truly incredible and just as good, if not better than heaven. I guess it's hard to put into words."

"I think I understand what you mean. When I was younger and people died, my mother used to tell me that they were now stars and that they were always looking over me because stars never stop burning, we just don't see them in the day because the sun is too bright."

Brittany bit her lip, "That's exactly it."

"So, do you think my brother's up there somewhere," Santana looked up to the sky. "Burning away in a massive ball of gaze, looking down at the world?"

"It doesn't sound so great when you say it like that," Brittany chuckled "But yes, I think he is."

Santana nodded her head and smiled. "I like that. You were right, by the way."

"About what."

"Today really did cheer me up."

They walked back to the apartment slowly and Brittany wanted to hold Santana's hand so badly but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. Santana said they would talk about the fact that they had kissed later but Brittany didn't want to ruin the mood so she decided to wait till Santana brought it up.

They ordered in Arties favourite Chinese and had a big group dinner. It was really fun getting to know everyone that little bit better. Brittany's eyes never strayed too far from Santana though. Later that night after dinner and final goodnights, Brittany slipped under her covers, her mind buzzing with thoughts, mostly Santana related. Okay, _all_ Santana related.

Brittany had kissed her. She wasn't even sure if the girl liked girls in that way. The moment had seemed so perfect and it's not like Santana stopped her or resisted. Brittany had sworn that she felt Santana's lips moving with hers. It wasn't just Brittany. But now it seemed like such a dream that she wasn't sure what had happened. But God did she remember what It felt like. It was without a doubt the best kiss Brittany had ever experienced, girl or guy. Brittany was thankful that it hadn't been awkward afterwards. In fact, it had been anything but. Brittany groaned and buried her head in her pillows. Why was stuff like this always so confusing?

After a few minutes Brittany heard the soft vibrate of her phone on her night stand she quickly picked it up and read the message.

_**Santana:**_ _**You awake?**_

Brittany quickly text back, **yup (:**

_**Santana: We should talk. Can I come over? **_

Brittany's heart sped up a little at this. _**Good idea.**_

Not three seconds later Brittany's door was being pushed open and Santana slipped inside, clicking it shut behind her.

'Hey." Brittany said softly and scooted over in her bed.

"Hey." Santana said back and got in next to Brittany, propping her head up on her hand and tuning on her side to face the blonde.

"What do you want to talk about?" she knew, she just didn't know how to start off the conversation anyway else.

Santana looked a little nervous and played with the top of the comforter. "Today, at paintball. When you…you know. Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to." Brittany shrugged. It was the truth.

"Do you like girls like that?"

"I've always liked _people._ To me it doesn't matter what gender they are."

"Do you like _me_?" Santana asked quietly

"I do."

"Really?"

Brittany nodded and looked into Santana's dark eyes. They were so gorgeous. Santana's lips pulled into a smile. "What're you looking at?"

Brittany looked away and giggled gently.

"You were great today. So fearless." Santana said with a grin and wink.

"I do try." Brittany said mimicking Santana's words from a few days prior.

Santana bit her lip and gazed down at the sheets. "You can do it again if you want.."

"Do what?" Brittany asked gently.

Santana looked up, "Kiss me."

Brittany's eyes dropped to Santana's full lips. God, she was gorgeous. Brittany leaned in and placed a soft kiss onto even softer lips and pulled away slowly. Santana followed her movement when Brittany pulled away and pressed another soft kiss on the blonde's lips. This time neither pulled away and they moved their lips together in a slow motion. Santana sucked delicately on Brittany's bottom lip enticing a small gasp. Brittany changed the angle of her kiss, allowing her more access to Santana's awaiting lips. Every time their lips meet and shiver ran up Brittany's spine, a warm flood rushing through her body.

"Your lips are so soft." Brittany marvelled.

"Yours too." Santana said before leaning in once more. Brittany caught Santana's bottom lip and bit down softly. A whimper escaped Santana's throat.

"Wow." Santana said as they pulled away for a breath.

Brittany dragged in a deep breath and nodded. "Would you like to be my cuddle buddy tonight?" Brittany asked

There was nothing implied or sexual about the question. It was kind of ironic how innocent the question was. Santana knew she had work in the morning and Brittany had class so she hunkered down under the covers. Plus, neither of them wanted to overstep their boundaries. Brittany immediately moved forward to wrap her hands around Santana's waist, burying her face in her neck.

"What does this mean?" Brittany asked sending warm breath down the Latina's neck causing her to shiver slightly.

"Whatever you want it to." Santana answered.

"I like you San, so could this be…something?"

"You're hot, I'm hot. It could work. But Britt, nobody knows that… I like girls." Santana tried to sound confident but it didn't come out that way.

"They don't? Why not?"

"That's a story for another time."

"Okay. So in private, can we like, still kiss sometimes and stuff, cause I really _really_ like kissing you." Brittany said

"Yeah, we can. I _really_ like kissing you too."

Brittany leaned up to place an adorable kiss on Santana's cheek. Santana wondered if someone's heart could literally melt.

"Night, night San."

"Night Britt.

They were both _so_ screwed. And they knew it.

XXXXXXXXXX

**WOAH two kisses! Aren't you guys lucky? Hope you liked it and review what you thought, the kisses especially. Also did you like the paintball and crazy little sugar/Rachel warriors?**


	8. Facebook chats and Texty times

Chapter 8: Facebook chats and Texty times

1 new message from Santana: **Where are you? I wanted to gets my cuddle on ):**

Brittany grinned down at her phone and pushed open the door to her dance class. A few people from her class were already in the studio, milling around, doing a few warm up stretches. They greeted Brittany cheerfully. They liked her. She was the baby of the group, after all.

Brittany quickly text back.** I had to go to class! I'm sorry, but plenty of time for cuddles later. I'd rather be with you**.

Not a minute after she sent her text, Brittany felt her phone buzz.

**Sweet :) Why didn't you wake me?- Santana**

Brittany felt herself smile as she typed; **You looked like you were having good dreams. I didn't want to interrupt.**

Brittany's class was about to start and just as she went to put her phone in her bag, it buzzed.

**They were good dreams. Have a great class, see you later. :)- Santana**

Brittany felt her stomach flip. '_see you later_.' Three simple words made her feel so, so excited and exhilarated. Just the thought of seeing Santana later was enough to fill her with enough happiness to last the rest of the day.

"Gather round you talentless piles of shower hair." Sue, Brittany's dance teacher spat and the class straightened up. "You have your first assessment in a few short weeks and you probably don't need me to tell you how much you already reek of failure but I will continue to do so none the less. May I once again remind you that your partnered dance needs to involve hip hop, ballet and contemporary influences. Now, I find the later extremely tedious and would much rather shovel soiled sand into my facial openings that partake in such genres of dance. So I have hired in a ginger bush baby to help out in that area. I believe her name is Emerald…Emily…Nancy possibly." Sue hummed in thought. "Anyway, unfortunately she was unable to be here today. We can only assume she is either stuck in her tree or was flattened into road kill on her way here. So today, work on the introduction to your performance. And please, please, try to be bearable to watch. I had to scrub my eyeballs with bleach after last class." Sue turned and walked to sit on her chair at the far end of the room, microphone in hand.

"Ready?" Mike asked

"Yup." Brittany grinned. Brittany was always ready to dance. Mike and Brittany decided to shake up their routine. It was extremely different to all of the other partnerships. But that's why Brittany liked it. It was shocking. And she liked Mike even more because he was willing to take a risk and try something a little different. Brittany could only hope it paid off when it came to their assessment. They started their music, First of the year by Skrillix and got stuck into their performance intro.

Unbeknown to them, Mike and Brittany were the best in their class. Their edgy and gritty moves put them on another level to the rest of the students. However, this only made Sue Sylvester harder on them.

"You, blond girl that dresses like a boy, you're dancing like a cat on heat." Sue growled.

Brittany glanced down at her attire; sweats and her Lakers singlet. Sure, it wasn't that girly but she was sure she didn't look like a boy. Brittany just shrugged and carried on.

"That's right Goldilocks. You look like you ate papa bear, mama bear and baby bear as well as their porridge. I can see your gut from here." Sue continued.

Brittany groaned and tried to block Sue out. It was like this every class. Sue would pick on her, tell her she was fat, talentless and a waste of space. Brittany had heard it all before but it didn't mean it didn't bother her. Mike rubbed her back comfortingly and she gave a small smile. Then she remembered that she would be seeing Santana later and that smile turned a lot brighter.

"You ready to go again Brittany? In 5, 6, 7, 8…"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What's up with you today?" Puck asked as he bounced on the balls of his feet

"Nothing. Why?" Santana asked as she mimicked him.

They danced around each other in the boxing ring at their work and held their gloves up defensively.

"You're lighter on your feet today and your posture is better. Less slouched." Puck said thoughtfully.

Santana lashed out and gave him a quick uppercut to the right side of his jaw.

"Owwww." Puck whined.

"Don't think too hard. You lose your concentration. Boy's cannot multitask."

Puck threw a hand punch and Santana dodged it easily. Puck was big and strong but Santana was quick and agile. Puck threw another hook but Santana dodged and deflected it. Puck cursed and pulled back. He had learnt a long time ago not to go easy on Santana. It only meant getting his ass handed to him. Hell, that still happened even when he was going for it.

"Slow_ and_ weak today, Pucky." Santana smirked. "You been learning from Kurt?"

Puck grinned, taking in Santana's trash talk. "I'm gonna kick your ass Hoepez."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Oi, we have customers you know!" Ronnnie, Santana and Pucks boss shouted from his office.

Santana and Puck rolled their eyes in unison. "We'll settle this another time." Puck smirked and then dragged his vibrating phone from his pocket. "Hey man, what's up?"

Puck engaged in a small conversation with who Santana assumed was Finn or Sam. Santana listened idly while she restacked the white towels near the changing rooms.

"Lopez, that was Finn. Says we got a big gig in a couple days, packing tomorrow, leaving the next day." Puck grinned cheerfully.

"Where is it?" Santana asked, not happy.

"Michigan! We're flying out there. Sugars dad got us a big gig at some parade."

"Ugh," Santana groaned. She really would rather be spending some time with Brittany, getting to know her more.

"Did you just moan? You love this shit. What's your problem?" Puck asked with a frown.

"No problem." Santana said quickly. "Just short notice."

"When is it ever not short notice?" Puck sniggered. "I'll go tell Ronnnie we need some time off."

Santana grumbled and Puck punched her playfully in the arm. "Hey, at least it'll pay good."

Santana waved her hand dismissively and Puck went in search for their boss. Santana's phone started vibrating in her pocket and she pulled it out and huffed when she saw who was calling.

"What is it, Rachel?"

"Why hello to you too Santana. I'm assuming Puck would have told you about our upcoming performance?" Santana stayed silent and Rachel took that as a yes.

"We're having a pre performance party tonight." Rachel basically squealed. Santana did brighten at this. The girls' pre performance parties were admittedly pretty fun. They all dragged their mattresses into the lounge along with pillows and duvets to make one massive bed. Then they watched movies, ate junk food, gossiped, braided each other's hair and stayed up late talking about anything and everything. They had done the same thing back in high school but loved it too much to stop.

"I'll be there. What movies are we watching? Please God, no more romantic chick flicks I beg of you." Santana whined.

"Fine. Any requests? Tina and I are going to get the movies in an hour or so." Rachel asked politely

Santana thought for a beat. "Finding Nemo."

"Uh, Santana?" Rachel said slowly.

"Yeah…"

"Oh, just making sure it really was you. Er, Finding Nemo..the one with the fish? The Disney animated film?"

"Yes," Santana snapped.

"Okay…Finding Nemo it is."

"Good. See you later." Santana said, hanging up the phone on a very confused Rachel.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Santana had to work an extra shift when someone called in sick. Normally she wouldn't mind but today, right now, she was agitated at the fact that it was 6.30 and she was only just walking home. Puck was by her side. His shift finished hours ago but he came back to walk Santana home. As always. She didn't ask him to do it but she never asked him to stop. It wasn't a weird flirty thing, they were long past that. No, it was a protective thing. Puck would never let anyone hurt Santana, not ever. And so every time Santana finished a shift after it was dark, Puck would be waiting by the door to walk her home. Today was no different.

"Night Puck." Santana grinned and punched him before spinning and bolting inside.  
"Night Lopez." Puck chuckled.

Santana felt her stomach flip when she entered the kitchen and lounge. She was so excited to see Brittany but also a little nervous to how things would be now that they had kissed.

"San!" she heard from across the room. Santana turned to find Brittany and Mercedes balancing metal spoons on their noses and couldn't help but laugh.

"Last one." Quinn heaved and chucked down a mattress to fill up the last space available. It seemed there were four double beds sprawled out on the floor with blankets and pillows everywhere. Like a giant mound of material, multi colours with different patterns.

Brittany shook the spoon off her nose and barrelled into Santana for a hug, wrapping her arms firmly around the girls waist and pulling softly. Santana closed her eyes and melted into the hug, completely surrounded by Brittany's warmth and smell. The fact that she was wearing a fluffy blue one piece pyjama suit defiantly made the hug even softer.

Santana heard Brittany sigh and after realising she had, she giggled. Santana reluctantly pulled away knowing Mercedes was watching them.

"I'll have a shower and I'll be down." Santana said, walking towards the stairs.

"Hurry, girl. We're starting movies soon!" Mercedes yelled.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Santana rushed downstairs after her shower and Rachel pressed play on the DVD player. Brittany squealed when she realised it was her favourite movie.

"Yuuus!" Brittany pumped her fist in the air.

"You like this movie too?" Rachel asked

Brittany was too involved in the flickering images to take much notice of what the short brunette was saying, nodding anyway. Santana slipped onto the mattress next to Brittany and laid her head back on her pillow, happy that Britt seemed so excited. Brittany stayed sitting up next to her for the first half of the film, clutching a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Santana found herself gazing at the blond for long moments, when she knew no one was looking. The way the TV light danced across her skin was incredible. The way the movie reflected off blue eyes, mesmerising.

When the blonde got tired she slipped beneath the covers next to Santana and continued to watch the film, totally engrossed by the colours of the deep blue. However, she was also aware of the warm body laying not half a foot from her. Santana's body. Santana's exotic, toned body.

Brittany shuddered a little at the thought. "You cold, Britt?" Santana whispered.

_If only you knew_…Brittany thought but shook her head, _no_.

Santana shuffled a little closer to her, her pinkie finger resting against Brittany's. She couldn't help it, she wanted to touch her so, so bad. Even if it was just a pinkie.

Brittany and sugar giggled at one of Dori's lines and Santana felt her whole hand wrap around Brittany's under the blanket. Brittany's grin grew broader but she stayed focused on the TV, not wanting to be obvious.

The girls stayed like this until the end of the film. Santana's hand wrapped over Brittany's and ankles touching subtly.

"One down!" Rachel hollered. "Food time."

They girls made a big circle and passed the bowls of different kinds of candy and junk around expertly.

"Chubby bunny time!" Sugar clapped her hands.

"You guys have a pet rabbit?" Brittany asked looking around the lounge.

Quinn looked at Brittany puzzled. "No, it's a game. Don't tell me you've never played chubby bunny?"

Brittany pursed her lips and shook her head.

"We have a chubby bunny virgin in the house!" Sugar hollered.

"How do you play?" Brittany asked.

"You have to get as many marshmallows into your mouth as you can. I'm the reigning champion." Mercedes stated proudly.

"Well you're about to become _ex-champion." _Brittany retorted. "Because I'm about to out chubby your bunny."

A collective 'oooh' went up around the group.

"You must be new here?" Mercedes said chuckled "But challenge accepted, fresh meat."

"Oh it's on."

"So on."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ladies and gentleman welcome to the 2012 chubby bunny off!" the girls clapped and cheered as Quinn stood on the coffee table and announced. "To my left we have a fresh face in town and up and comer…BrittanySpeirce!" cheers went off again, Santana grunting like the guys did at football games. "And to my right we have chubby bunny reigning champion….Mercedesjones!" The cheers sounded again and both competitors turned to each other, trying to psych out their opponent.

"Let's get ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!" Quinn shouted.

Brittany stuffed the first marshmallow in her mouth as did Mercedes and the game was on.

By the 13th marshmallow, Brittany's mouth was getting sore and her 'chubby bunnies' came out more like "chu'y unni'" but she was highly competitive and she wouldn't stop until she either choked to death or passed out from gelatine overload. Mercedes stuffed another fluffy white ball of goo in her mouth and struggled to say 'chubby bunny'. Brittany couldn't give up now. The bets had been placed. Santana laying down her box of dots alongside Sugars cookie dough when they placed their bets on a win from Brittany. Tina and Rachel had countered them with a packet of popcorn and liquorice when they placed their bets on Mercedes.

Brittany forced another marshmallow inter her mouth and groaned out 'chubby bunny'. Mercedes did the same with struggle. And that's when Brittany felt it stirring, deep within her…her senses tingled and her nose twitched.

Oh shit. She needed to sneeze.

Brittany looked around with wide eyes as if looking for the answer of what to do. She was bout to blow this joint sky high. Marshmallow was going to explode _everywhere._

"Oh god, is she choking?" Tina gasped.

Brittany raised hand and shook it, telling Tina no. "What's she doing" Rachel tilted her head to the side trying to contemplate the blonde's weird movements. Mercedes started giggling, she couldn't help it with Brittany like this. She was whipping her head back and forth, clutching the bridge of her nose and smacking her hand against her neck. What was she _doing?_

"Oh no, Mercedes." Rachel scolded. "You cannot start laughing! You'll have to spit out your marshmallows and we'll lose! We have to win. I like my liquorice. I _need_ my liquorice."

"Did you know liquorice is a natural laxative?" Santana started. "Oh, so that's why you always spend so long in the bathroom."

Rachel glared at Santana and Mercedes laughed harder, causing Brittany to giggle too. Brittany still needing to sneeze but tried to hold it in. Mercedes giggled heartily and Brittany felt her own body shake with her own giggle and then…

"AAAAAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" a massive sneeze ripped through Brittany's body, causing it to convulse. Marshmallow. Went. Flying. A big glop of it straight into Mercedes chest, hitting with a wet 'smack'

Mercedes eyes went wide and she screamed, causing her own glop of marshmallow to fall out. Quinn expertly catching it with an empty bowl.

"No, no, no, no, no, no,no!" Mercedes squealed at the marshmallow on her top, dripping down. Santana and Sugar were on the floor crying with laughter, while Rachel and Tina grasped onto each other on the couch, their bodies shaking with giggles.

"I am so sorry" Brittany said with wide eyes, holding her hand in the air above her head, as if she didn't want to risk touching anything.

Mercedes looked down at her shirt, then up at Brittany, then back down again. And suddenly she was laughing the loudest laugh Brittany had ever heard. It was this insane cackle and for a second, Brittany was genuinely shocked to hear it. Mercedes face had laughing tears rolling down the side much like the other girls. Brittany found herself laughing too. A deep, hearty laugh that made all her muscles work. After a while Mercedes managed to stop enough to squeeze out, "I'm going for a shower." This only made the other girls laugh harder.

"You will go down in the book of legends." Tina giggled

"That was…" Santana couldn't even finish before she was laughing again.

After they had cleaned up the mess and settled down a bit, Rachel stuck in the second movie. "Requested by Brittany." She announced and smiled

Marry Poppins stared playing on the screen and Santana stilled.

"No way." She whispered, looking over and Brittany who was lying down next to her. the blonde responded with a wink.

They took up the same positions as before, this time a little closer and their fingers intertwined. Santana couldn't help thinking that if felt so right. By the end of the film, everyone except Santana and Brittany were asleep. Santana couldn't help but think it was the electric running through her skin everywhere Brittany touched her that was keeping her awake. After she turned the TV off, Santana shifted onto her side and immediately felt Brittany close the gap behind her, draping her arm over Santana's waist.

"mmm you're comfy" Brittany whispered into Santana's ear softly.

Santana scooted back even more and loved the feeling of her butt firmly against Brittany's crotch.

"We fit." Santana whispered back

Brittany spread her fingers and pushed them against Santana stomach, dipping them slightly under the material before leaning so her nose was nuzzled close to Santana's neck. She smelt like coconut shampoo and buttermilk body wash along with warm skin and that underlying natural smell that was undoubtedly Santana. She pressed her lips to Santana's neck and felt her shiver.

Santana reached down and push Brittany's hands so it slid all the way under her top, Brittany's smooth hand resting upon Santana's toned stomach.

"You know what they say," Santana whispered on the verge of sleep, "Spooning leads to 'forking'…" Brittany giggled lightly and it was the last thing Santana heard before floating off into a deep sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Has everyone got everything they need?" Rachel asked the group

"Condoms…check" Puck grinned and patted his back pocket

Santana laughed and shoved him sideways into Kurt who smoothed out his outfit immediately.

"Then we're good to go!" Rachel said.

The group said goodbye to Brittany before loading into the taxi's with their gear.

Santana moved forward to hug the girl whispering, "Only two days." in her ear. Brittany held her tight and subtly kissed her behind her ear, not trusting herself to say anything. Santana squeezed her hands before retreating back to her taxi. Brittany watched them all pull away as they travelled towards the airport.

She picked up her phone and sent a text to Santana

_**Miss you already.**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the next night and Brittany was bored out of her mind. With and empty flat and nothing good on TV, Brittany decided to check out her Facebook and was instantly invited by Artie into a group chat. Curiously, Brittany looked at all the members taking part in the chat and was surprised to find all of her roomies and all the boys, apart from Sam, were involved.

Santana: Brittany!

Mercedes: Hey gurl, we've missed you

Santana: ^ word

Brittany: Hey! I've missed you all too. Word to your mother.

Mercedes: Ok, imma have to teach you some more ghetto phrases…

Artie: ^ can I be in on that lesson?

Santana: for the last time Artie, YOU ARE NOT GANGSTER.

Mercedes: ^word

Brittany: HAHA

Quinn: How's the flat without us Brittany?

Brittany: :( It's scary!

Rachel: You have lord Tubington to keep you company/safe.

Santana: Rachel has a point about being safe. LT is built like a shit brick house. No getting past that MO'Fo'

Brittany: LT is not a 'Mo'Fo'' !

Puck: Told

Santana: Can it Puck

Brittany: how are you all on here? I thought you were staying together?

Tina: We are. We have separate rooms next to each other.

Brittany: why don't you physically talk to each other..?

Tina: too much effort ;)

Santana: and Like Medusa, I can't look Rachel in the eye. It's easier to communicate online.

Puck: Porn and FB at same time!

Santana: you disgust me

Quinn: you disgust me

Rachel: you disgust me

Rachel: Jinx!

Santana: what're you, 12?

Rachel: …

Sugar: I call for peace up in here!

Tina: agreed. No more fighting, not even online.

Mike: I love you

Tina: ^ Asian kisses!

Santana: ugh

Brittany: CAUUUTE

Sugar: ^word

Brittany: ahahaha

Tina: what have you been up to today Brittany?

Brittany: kickin' back I guess. Class, food, TV. FML. LT keeps asking me to make him dounuts..

Santana: that cat..ugh

Brittany: San! Not nice

Santana: ;) jk

Brittany: other than that, nothing much. How was the first performance?

Finn: awesome! The team did a great job. Proud of the team.

Santana: I hate you.

Quinn: so very, very, condescending.

Mercedes: we rocked it. Santana was especially great.

Brittany: yay San!

Santana: It's how I do.

Sugar: seriously, how is your voice so raspy? It's like sex through song.

Quinn: …um…

Tina: I agree with Sugar

Mike: should I be worried…

Tina: hahaha, well…Santana is pretty smoking ;)

Brittany: Mhmm

Rachel: very…exotic

Santana: I like this conversation!

Puck: Ladies, remember that the ol' Puck-a-saurus is always here to… Satisfy your needs..

Santana: *vomits

Sugar: Okay Puck Puck :)

Quinn: Sugar, don't encourage it!

Brittany: why isn't Sam on here too?

Quinn: he's got a cold and he's been quarantined by Mr shue. He's sleeping now

Brittany: Poor Sam.

Mike: He's a big boy, he'll manage.

Tina: Mike, why don't you make him some of that tea your mom makes, with the Panda hair?

Mike: I thought we were trying to make him _better_?

Finn: hahaha

Brittany: anything funny happen on the trip yet?

Rachel: Mr shue fell off stage during rehearsals…

Santana: bahahahaha poor guy thinks he can dance.

Mercedes: Oh man that was too funny.

Finn: I think he might be a worse dancer than me after that!

Santana: defiantly not

Mike: I choked on my noodles. Terrifying for me, hilarious for everybody else.

Tina: I wasn't laughing.

Mike: ^ 3

Artie: Hell, I was. Pretty sure they came back out your nose.

Sugar: they did! I thought you had a massive booger but it was the end of a noodle.

Quinn: this conversation is weird

Brittany: Poor Mike!

Mike: How's Sue going? You getting through classes ok?

Santana: what do you mean? What does Sue do?

Brittany: she's just a little mean. It's okay.

Mike: she totally picks on Brittany. I think it's cause Brittany's one of the best dancers, high expectations?

Santana: What a bitch. I don't like her.

Rachel: Takes one to know one.

Artie: REEEEWWW claws come out to play

Quinn: you don't like anyone, Santana

Santana: Not true

Santana: did she pick on you today Britt?

Brittany: a little…

Santana: what did she say? I'll cut a bitch. I'll cut a bitch ten times.

Brittany: stop the violence..

Santana: Britt..

Brittany: fine. She called me a mole rat who's missing hair was a metaphor for its missing talent..

Quinn: don't listen to her, she only tears other people down to make herself feel better.

Santana: that insult is lacking in every department. She's obviously losing in. Chin up Britt :)

Artie: Sue reminds me of men in the 70's..

Rachel: I swear she has chest hair..

Brittany: It's ok. I just can't wait till you guys come home! I MISS YOUUUU!

Tina: we all miss you too. It's really amazing how well you have fit into our group. Like you were there all along

Santana: ^ Amen. I miss you Britt :(

Brittany: Santana, when you get home can we get our sweet lad-

Brittany: *our sweet baking skills on…

Santana: oh yes we can get out sweet…baking skills on!

Rachel: oh! Can I join?

Brittany: NO!

Santana: NO!

Brittany: I mean, you probably wouldn't like how we bake.

Santana: Yeah we get really dirty…right Quinn?

Brittany: ^ LIKE

Quinn: I caught them making snow angels in the flour on the kitchen floor..

Rachel: Never mind then.

Finn: We can do some baking Rach!

Rachel: really? But you hate baking..

Finn: if it makes you happy of course we can :)

Santana: *vomits

Rachel: yay!

Santana: Britt, what have you been eating while we're away?

Mercedes: yeah, you haven't burnt the apartment down yet right?

Brittany: have faith, I have been living off toast and cereal :)

Santana: I'll cook you a proper meal when we get home.

Puck: hold up, I've been trying to get Santana to cook for me for years. And this blondes been here what, one and a half weeks and Santana's cooking for her? Unjustified!

Artie: Does Santana know what a kitchen looks like?

Puck: Hey Artie, why are a women's feet small?

Artie: why?

Puck: so they can get closer to the stove!

Santana: sexist pig.

Puck: Santana, you didn't answer my question.

Santana: Britt would never ask me to cook for her and that's why I would. Justified!

Brittany: Praise.

Puck: so you're a little domestic bitch now? :P

Santana: that's it, I'm coming over.

Puck: SANTANA, DON'T BE RASH

Artie: Oh shit

Quinn: HA! You're gon' get it Puckerman

Puck: Santana….?

Puck: jlqfhqpnoi;m

Mercedes: I can hear screaming from Pucks room…

Rachel: that is defiantly not Santana screaming..

Puck: HEEEL-O-PPP SDHLIG

Brittany: get him San!

Kurt: Yup, she's gone all Lima heights.

Blain: I can hear the Spanish from my room

Quinn: where have you two been for this convo?

Kurt: Costume adjustment

Blain: went for burgers!

Blain: Um..costume adjustment at the burger place we went to ….?

Quinn: You boys are so obvious..

Brittany: HEHE sexy times

Blain: what? No! We were tailoring our performance suits..at Denny's..

Kurt: WORSE! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE BLAINE.

Mercedes: SNAP

Santana: BUSTED

Blaine: did you beat up Puck, Satan?

Santana: yes, yes I did. But don't try to change the subject grease head. You and Billy Eliot were getting it ownnnnnnnnn ;D

Blain: I'm going to bed.

Santana: don't leave Kurt behind!

Kurt: UGH!

_Kurt has logged out_

_Blaine has logged out_

Brittany: they're adorable

Brittany: San, what did you do to Puck?

Puck: Ripped me a new one is what!

Santana: don't be a sexist pig then, stupid.

Puck: hey, I'm not stupid!

Santana: Maths, junior year- the teacher asked you what came after 69 and you said mouthwash.

Finn: hahahaha

Santana: don't laugh Finn, you didn't know how to wash your junk until senior year! Seriously Rachel, you could do better.

Rachel: I'm flattered Santana but please don't insult Finn.

Puck: Chicks are so naggy. I'm never marrying...

Santana: who would marry you anyway? You smell like feet.

Puck: so do you

Brittany: ah, no. San smells like coconut and vanilla.

Quinn: Yeah. I borrow her shampoo all the time.

Santana: IT'S YOU!

Quinn: oh please, like you don't borrow my stuff

Santana: like what?

Quinn: food, clothes, money. To name a few

Santana: meh

Rachel: What are you up to tonight Brittany?

Brittany: think I might read a book

Quinn: oh, what one? I've got a mini book case in my room

Brittany: I was thinking I'd try Alice in wonderland.

Santana: 3

Quinn: I don't have that one but Santana does. Good choice.

Brittany: :), what are you guys doing tonight?

Rachel: right now we're in our own rooms, doing vocal warm downs. It's been a long day.

Santana: speak for yourself, Dobby.

Artie: Haha, Rachel. You are so intense.

Mercedes: I for one want to go out on the town. But SANTANA is sulking for some reason and refuses to go.

Santana: Am not!

Tina: ARE TOO!

Mike: Mhmmm *ghetto finger snap

Quinn: they're right, what's up with you?

Santana: …

Puck: she needs to get laid!

Santana: Oh hell to the no, you did not just say that

Mercedes: GURL, that's MY phrase.

Sugar: Puck's right! We need to get Santana boyfraaaand to satisfy her neeeeds

Quinn: ^ like. Maybe she wouldn't be such a bitch if she got laid constantly.

Rachel: 100% behind this movement.

Quinn: so what kinda boy we looking for, S?

Santana: I don't need a boyfriend! I'm a strong, individual black woman and I don't need a man. Back me up here Mercedes.

Mercedes: you need a man Santana. That or I know _exactly_ what I'm getting you for your next birthday…

Brittany: a dog companion?

Mercedes: Nope.

Brittany: a bunny?

Mercedes: not even close.

Brittany: a fish?

Mercedes: I'll give you a clue..It goes 'buzz, buzz'

Quinn: Nasty

Santana: you are just…I can't even…ugh!

Rachel: you're getting her a new phone?

Mercedes: NO. forget it.

Santana: Mercedes you are GROSS

Mecedes: calm yo tits

Brittany: Wait, I got it! You're getting San a buzzy bee!

Quinn: MOVING ON

Sugar: Brittany, what's your best pick up line? Puck and I are trying to come up with some for him to use on the ladies at the concert tomorrow!

Brittany: hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number so call me maybe?

Santana: ahahaha yes!

Quinn: gold. Pure. Gold.

Sugar: awesome. He's such a sucker. I'm gonna go tell him. Bye Brittany! Xxxx

Brittany: Bye sugar! X

_Sugar has logged out_

Brittany: she's so sweet.

Santana: Punny!

Tina: Mike's in my room so goodnight from the both of us :*

_Tina has logged out_

Rachel: Finn, I think we should run through the set list for tomorrow's performance. We must be perfect.

Finn: I'll be right over. I ordered some super for us.

Santana: hold up while I VOMIT all over that supper.

Rachel: Santana, go get laid.

Puck: BURN!

Rachel: goodnight all

Santana: if I hear _anything_ dodgy coming from room 4b I will not hesitate to throw a fire extinguisher through your door. Remember our roommate agreement.

Rachel: That's hardly fair. We're not even in the apartment!

Santana: the agreement stands.

Rachel: can we get a new token Latina for out group?

Santana: LOVE YOU RACHIE! XX MWAHH

Rachel: I don't appreciate your sarcasm. Again, goodnight.

_Finn has logged out_

_Rachel has logged out_

Brittany: why do you argue with Rachel so much San?

Santana: she has to be constantly taken down a peg or seven. Otherwise she would be way too up herself to even function.

Quinn: it's true.

Puck: my little Jewbro is _high_ maintenance. Dunno how Finn does it.

Quinn: ^ that's because you can't fathom commitment while Finn is all about it.

Puck: Santana's just as bad. When's the last time she had a boyfriend for more than a few weeks.

Santana: it's because they were all douche bags and boring as hell. Nothing to do with commitment issues.

Puck: I'll believe that when I see it.

Quinn: What about you Brittany, you had many long term boyfriends?

Mercedes: OH GOSSIP!

Brittany: ha, no not really. I guess nobody could really keep up with me.

Puck: I got it…you're an animal in the sack aren't you blondie? No man can satisfy? Well look no further cause the Puckerman is yours for the taki-nakljf hi;oaklmxk;o

_Puck has logged out_

Mercedes: woah what happened there?

Artie: I think his computer must have frozen.

Santana: nope. I have his computer now. That boy is too inappropriate to manage.

Brittany: hahahaha, so swag

Quinn: Brittany, that's too bad. I hope you can find someone that can keep up with you ;) nighty night.

_Quinn has logged out_

Mercedes: Amen. You're a catch girl.

Artie: Praise

Mercedes: Time for my daily dose of RnB. See you soon Brittany. Santana, if you snore tonight, I will kill you. These walls are thin.

Santana: I don't snore!

Brittany: you do!

Brittany: ah I mean, the walls in the apartment are pretty thin too.

Santana: yeah..

Mercedes: not t_hat_ thin... Good night ladies.

Artie: now it's time for my daily dose of Halo! Cya

_Mercedes has logged out_

_Artie has logged out_

Santana: and then there were two ;)

Brittany: seriously, I've missed you.

Santana: I've missed you too. so much. It's..it's why I've been sulking.

Brittany: nawww :)

Santana: I CAN'T WAIT TO GET HOME!

Brittany: so we can get our cuddle on? ;)

Santana: and more? But yes, cuddle. You give the bestest cuddles.

Brittany: more?

Santana: I mean, if you wanted , I'm not trying to..i mean..i don't mean to be

Santana: Ah, would you want to do 'more' with me?

Brittany: I really do.

Santana: I'm guna text you kay. Right after deleting this conversation!

Brittany: okay :)

Brittany smiled at the conversation and flipped her laptop closed, flicking on her phone to find a message waiting.

_**I couldn't get you out of my head all day – Santana**_

Brittany grinned and settled in for another, much more exciting conversation.

_**Me too! couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to hug you…and more ;)- Brittany**_

Brittany knew she was being flirty but she couldn't help it. Santana seemed to inspire it in her.

_**Woah, I wish I was with you right now. Everything feels better when you're there. I bet what Puck said was true… - Santana**_

_**I feel the same. What did Puck say?- Brittany**_

_**That you're an animal in the sack ;)- Santana**_

Brittany gasped and covered her mouth and Santana's boldness.

_**Santana! haha I wouldn't know, would I? Isn't that for the other person to judge?- Brittany**_

_**You're right. I'll be sure to let you know- Santana**_

Brittany giggled at that. She loved it when Santana was confident and flirty like this.

_**Who says you're getting me into bed? - Brittany**_

_**You don't want this fine piece of ass between your legs? I mean…sheets…;)- Santana**_

_**You're bad San ;) – Brittany**_

_**Punish me? – Santana**_

Brittany giggled again. She could almost hear Santana saying those words, sweet and innocent but dirty all the same.

_**You'll have to work for it- Brittany**_

_**I'm more than willing to. I'll get you, don't worry about that. – Santana**_

_**I can't wait till you do –Brittany**_

_**Hey Britt, next time the glee club goes away, will you come with us? –Santana**_

Brittany smiled at how obvious Santana was.

_**You really do miss me huh? Well it's okay cause I'm finding it really quite hard without yo fine ass round here to look at ;) –Brittany**_

_**You just want me for my body, I get it. –Santana**_

_**I can't help the fact that you are one of Gods fine arts and that you happen to prance around my apartment in skimpy clothing that show large amounts of skin – Brittany**_

_**I'll be sure to do that more often –Santana**_

_**Much appreciated –Brittany**_

_**One of God fine arts huh? So we've got a smooth talker in the house – Santana**_

_**I try, I try. But I no lie ;) you're gorgeous. So gorgeous. –Brittany**_

_**If I'm one of Gods fine arts then I think you must be his master piece. – Santana**_

**And **_**I'm**_** the smooth talker? Get out of town. – Brittany**

_**HEHE ;) As much as I love talking to you, Rachel is forcing us to go to sleep now. 'Big day tomorrow' or some shit. UGH. She kinda has a point though. I'll be home late tomorrow night, you'll be asleep but I'll still be there :) night night Britt Britt xoxo**_

_**I can't wait to see you! good luck at your performance. Kick some ass, as usual. See you soon :) goodnight San. P.s. this has been my favourite text conversation of all time.- Brittany**_

And with that Brittany set down her phone and got comfy in her bed a content smile on her face resembling that of Santana's only a few states away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Cuteness overload? I think so… tell me what you thought!**

**So Emma Pilsbury, the ginger bush baby is being added into the mix. I do love her.**

**Sorry for any mistakes. Right so, I'm thinking there might be substantial Brittana sexual tension next chapter… I'm jus' sayin'…**


	9. Blame it on the flu

**First off a massive thanks for story alerting, favourite-ing , reviewing this story! And thanks to those who give me inspiration through PM and keep me updating as fast as I can. Especially Rhettlee . You're awesome ;)**

Chapter 9: Blame it on the flu

Brittany ran and jumped into bed, diving under the cover and doing the cold sheet dance where she wiggled around like a maniac for thirty seconds, to warm up her chilly bed. She was excited and nervous because the glee kids were arriving home from their trip in only a few hours and that meant Santana time. Brittany _loved_ Santana time. Brittany had gone to bed, hoping that sleep would wrap her up in a nice warm bubble until Santana could be there to do it for real. It was only 9.00pm but Brittany felt her eyelids drop as she flicked through the pages of Alice in Wonderland. Sue had worked her hard today. She made the whole class do core work and stacked chairs on Brittany's back when it was time for push ups. Brittany's shoulders ached unforgivingly but that didn't take away from her high spirits. The blonde tried to focus on reading, really she did but she was just too tired. Brittany carefully placed the hard cover book on her bedside table and picked up her phone in the process, seeing she had a new message.

_**We're waiting at the airport now. Berry just came out of the bathroom with a sheet of toilet paper stuck to her foot! No one's told her yet hehe. And guess who I'm sitting next to on the flight back? KURT. Ugh. I mean, I love the kid but seriously, if I'm in a close proximity to him for too long I pass out from hairspray fumes. But we should be home around 2am. And, um, I, um, miss you. So yeah. - Santana**_

_**Awe poor Rachel :(..but can you send me a pic of that? :P Kurt's lovely but I do understand. Use the oxygen masks above the seats and get a little high on for the trip! Seriously, I miss you too. It's been lonely here - Brittany **_

Moments later a picture of Rachel buying a coffee came through on Brittany's phone. The toilet paper on her foot was quite lengthy and Brittany could see bystanders in the back ground sniggering. She could help but laugh. I mean, who does that?

_**Enjoy the pic. That right there is enough comic relief to get you through the month. I have to go, flight's here but can I ask you one quick question? –Santana**_

_**Of course :) what is it?- Brittany**_

_**Can I…when I get home can I please come sleep in your bed with you?- Santana**_

Brittany felt her heart leap.

_**Yes please. I need a good cuddle. I've been deprived. I'll see you soon :) x- Brittany**_

_**I'll set that straight. I'm an excellent cuddler ;) and if you tell anyone that, I'm going to have to kill you. xo-Santana**_

Brittany grinned and shut her eyes. Her tired muscles moulding back into her mattress and her mind going black.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Brittany woke up, she found she was pressed to Santana's chest, Santana had her arms wrapped around the blonde protectively and held her tight. Brittany was the warmest she had ever been. She pulled her head back so she could see Santana's face clearly. And after a few seconds of watching Santana sleep, came to the conclusion that the girl was without a doubt the most beautiful girl Brittany had ever laid eyes upon. Their heads shared a pillow with their faces only inches apart. Santana breathed quietly and Brittany couldn't contain a manic grin when Santana let out a soft snore. It was so cute. Like when you watch those videos of cats sleeping and they make those little sleeping noises. You know the ones.

Brittany leaned forward and softly kissed the lips only inches from her. She couldn't fathom how soft they were. How perfectly shaped and full they were. Brittany found herself studying Santana's lips. She thought they must have been one of Santana's best features, but then her other features were pretty damn awesome as well. Her adorable little nose and perfect eyebrows. Her skin was amazingly soft and smooth and she had this perfect completion. She was obviously Hispanic but Brittany wondered what exactly she had in her. She made a mental note to ask. She had cute ears. Some people had some shit ugly ears but not this girl. Her eyes. God, her eyes. They were so rich and deep. Brittany felt like she could get lost forever in those eyes and she willingly would. Brittany's eyes focused back in on Santana's lips. She raised her hand and as delicately as she could, traced Santana's rosy lips. she couldn't stop staring at them, thinking how much she wanted to kiss them. Brittany was probably on her tenth circuit of Santana's lips when she realised they were now pulled back slightly in a smile. She finished the last circuit before tearing her gaze up to Santana's eyes.

"Morning chica bonita, see something you like?" Santana mumbled huskily.

"I didn't mean to wake you." Brittany said sheepishly. "I couldn't help myself."

"It's a nice way to wake up." Santana smiled.

Brittany returned the smile before asking, "How was the trip."

"A drag really. It was a private event so we couldn't act like hooligans."

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me too." Santana raised her hand to touch Brittany's cheek. "I don't understand something…"

"What?" Brittany asked, eyebrow furrowed.

"How I've known you all of two weeks and you feel like such a big part of my life already."

Brittany smiled at Santana's openness. "Maybe god has laid a hand?"

"Something like that." Santana smiled.

"Where are the others?"

"Passed out. We got back around three in the end. They're all tired, not going to classes or work today." Santana hummed and played with a strand of Brittany's hair.

"Aren't you tired, San?"

"Nope. I slept every spare moment on the trip so I'm good. Got some kick ass sleeping pills that put me out for the count." Santana grinned, showing of her stunning pearly whites.

"Cool. Do you dream when you take them?"

"Nah. It's usually just blackness. But I don't mind that."

"Will you keep taking them?" Brittany asked.

"Not if I have my cuddle buddy." Santana emphasised my squeezing her hands on Brittany's hips.

Brittany grinned and bit her lip. "You're a big old flirt you know."

Santana dramatically put her hand to her chest. "Whatever are you talking about?"

Brittany smirked. "In your texts. You were very suggestive."

"I'm a sexual being, take me or leave me." Santana smirked back. "Besides, it's hard not to be flirty around you. You're kinda hot, Britt."

"Kinda?" Brittany teases.

"Kinda..totally smokin' "

"Ditto. I especially like your eyes and lips. And your body. Wow your body. You have a cute nose and ears too. Anybody ever tell you that?"

Santana shook her head slowly.

"Well they should have. I was thinking just before that you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen."

Santana looked almost gobsmacked and a little flushed too. "Do you just say whatever's on your mind?" she asked.

"Absolutely. Life's easier that way." Brittany smiled. "Give it a go."

Santana bit her lip and glanced down and then back up. "You have the most kick ass body I have ever seen. You're face resembles an angle but I know somewhere in there is the dirty mind of the devil." Santana winked and Brittany blushed. "I like you." she finished simply.

"I like you too." Brittany leaned forward again and this time Santana met her half way. Their lips gently met and started moving against each other softly. Brittany felt Santana smile into the kiss and then she was on her back, Santana hovering over her, two legs holding her securely in place. Santana reached forward to trace Brittany's bottom lip with the pad of her thumb.

"So sweet." She whispered.

Brittany thought she had died and gone to heaven when Santana pushed her lips onto hers again, changing the angle slightly. Brittany's body almost went into overdrive when she felt something as soft and smooth as velvet run across her bottom lip. Brittany parted her lips to let Santana's tongue slide gently into her mouth and when their tongues met, it felt like a thousand fire crackers had exploded in the blonde's stomach. Tingles sped through her body, especially her tongue.

Their tongues slid lazily against each other and it felt so good. For both of them. For Santana, all the French kisses she had experienced had been sloppy and intrusive and gross. But this…this was amazing. She didn't know she could feel the rush of adrenaline just by kissing someone. Brittany tilted her head, giving Santana more access and she moaned at the contact.

After a while it became apparent that they needed air, so both girls pulled back a little.

"W-woah." Brittany stammered.

Santana reached up to touch her own swollen kissed lips and nodded.

"You're good at that." Brittany said with big doe eyes.

"I think I found my new favourite activity." Santana said breathlessly, running a hand though her hair. Brittany ran her hands up and down Santana's thighs a few times before hooking her fingers in the waist band of Santana's shorts and pulling her down. Santana giggled and playfully nipped at Brittany's lip, her hands resting on Brittany's stomach between their bodies.

"Have you always had abs?" Santana asked, kissing Brittany's pulse point.

"Yup, basically popped out of my mother with a six pack." Brittany said, trying to calm her breathing.

Santana chucked. "Yeah, yeah big shot."

Brittany laughed and squeaked out, "Kidding, kidding!" when Santana poked her in the side.

"Well, from what I can feel, they're very nice." Santana spread her fingers and ran her palms over Brittany's midsection, careful not to stray too far up or down. Brittany let her head fall back on her pillow. "That feels good." She murmured to which Santana grinned.

"But I'm not even really doing anything." Santana said, but kept rubbing across Brittany's abs. Taking time to appreciate the dips and curves in the muscle. Brittany looked up at her with a smirk before flipping them both swiftly so she was on top. Brittany automatically brought her hands to Santana's torso and began running them up and down her sides, happy that she was having the desired effect. Brittany decided to be a little bit daring and when she ran her hands up Santana's side the next time, she subtly brushed her thumb against the side of Santana's boob before running her hands back down.

"Oh." Santana's voice hitched.

"What? I'm not even really doing anything…" Brittany mocked.

"You think you're funny huh?" Santana tried to be intimidating but she didn't think it was working with her cheeks flushed like this.

"Hells yeah." Brittany grinned, pinning Santana to the bed. She leaned down to kiss Santana's neck and felt the girl beneath her shiver.

"You're luck you're cute." Santana murmured and then froze. Brittany wondered if she meant to say that out loud.

"Cute like a monkey?" Brittany asked, pulling back from Santana's neck.

Santana bit her lip and smiled. "Cuter."

Brittany grinned and was leaning down to kiss Santana again before they heard commotion downstairs. Santana rolled her eyes. "Guess the girls are up. We should make an appearance."

Brittany nodded and started to slide off Santana but was grabbed around the waist and pulled into sitting position in Santana's lap. "Not so fast." Santana whispered before kissing Brittany deeply and sucking on her bottom lip as she pulled away.

In a daze Brittany followed Santana out of the room, breathless and completely turned on.

"BRITTANY!" Tina and Mercedes squealed together when she entered the kitchen and living room. Both girls wrapped her in a big hug followed by Sugar who practically jumped in her arms.

"How are you?" Tina asked.

"Fantastic." Brittany answered honestly, glancing at Santana who smirked into the paper she was reading.

"How was the performance?" Brittany asked as she moved around the kitchen making some toast.

"Just the standard." Tina shrugged. "The accommodation was pretty great. We hardly ever get our own rooms."

"You were just glad you got a private space to have sexy times with Mike." Sugar concluded. "Bow chica wow wow."

Tina giggled but didn't deny it. "Do you know when your next gig is?" Brittany asked after a mouthful of toast.

"Nope. Could be next week, could be next month.' Mercedes answered.

Brittany nodded thoughtfully. "Plans for the day?" Brittany asked around.

"More sleep." Mercedes said as she took her cereal off to her room. Santana chucked.

"I might go visit the boys." Sugar said and Tina agreed.

"I'm gonna read." Quinn added helpfully as she read her book on the couch.

Brittany looked at Santana for an answer and Santana made kissing faces at her behind the other girls backs. Brittany blushed at this.

"You okay, B? Looking a little red there." Santana said before turning back to her paper.

Tina, Sugar and Quinn looked at her which made Brittany blush even more.

"Ah- when you go to see the boys, I'll come." Brittany said quickly, changing the subject.

"We've been meaning to ask you something...about that." Quinn said slowly, setting her book down. "Do you like any of the boys?"

"I like them all. I think they're great." Brittany answered honestly.

"No. Like, like. You know?" Tina said.

"Apart from the boys with partners, obviously." Quinn said.

"Although I'd completely understand if you had the hots for Blaine." Sugar said. "His eyebrows are perfection."

Santana snorted and Quinn laughed.

"So do you like any of them?" Tina asked leaning forward with her chin in her hand.

"Yeah cause Pucks totally ripped and Sam's a cutie pie. And Artie's really smart and all." Sugar said.

Brittany noticed Santana's movements had stilled as she waited for an answer.

"Honestly, I think they're cool but…they're not really my type." Brittany shrugged.

"What is your type, looks wise?" Tina asked.

Brittany smiled, thinking she's have a little fun with this. "I'm a sucker for dark eyes. I don't know why, I think they're captivating I guess."

Tina nodded and prompted her to continue. "I guess I prefer darker hair over light, if I was blond and they were blonde, it'd be all blonde and I think that could get confusing. Skin wise, I really love darker complexions. It's exotic and sexy." Brittany chanced a look at Santana who hadn't turned the page of the paper yet, her eyes glassy and her head turned slightly towards Brittany.

"They gotta have a smokin' body and good teeth." Brittany tapped her finger against her chin. "I think the most important thing is the smile. If I got to wake up next to a beautiful smile every day, then I couldn't ask for anything more."

"What about personality?" Sugar asked.

"Fun and playful is important. A good sense of humour , I especially appreciate fine sarcasm. But also a bit of a live wire, unpredictable. Someone who's not afraid to put a person in their place. Someone who's intelligent and talented but doesn't boast about it. Someone who can be adorably cute and insanely sexy in the space of ten seconds. Kind hearted and compassionate. Someone who's real, ya know." Brittany ended and Sugar and Tina nodded enthusiastically.

"I think it could be quiet hard to find a boy with all that." Quinn said.

Brittany smiled and said, "That's okay." Because it was. Yes, it might have been hard to find a boy with those qualities but she was fine with that, because she found a girl that had all of that and more. Brittany watched as Santana smiled and wrote something with the tip of her finger on the table top, she wondered what it was she was writing.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Be prepared." Tina said as Brittany followed her to the boy's apartment.

"Prepared for what?" Brittany asked

"It smells like boy and sometimes there are left over girls hanging around. It's a bit like jersey shore in there." Sugar said.

Brittany scrunched up her nose and pushed open the door, preparing for the worst. It wasn't as bad as she expected. It was kind of tidy and liveable but not as nice as the girls' apartment. The set up was different to the girls apartment and it was a little bit different shape wise but Brittany found herself instantly liking it. The big plasma bleared with ESPN and the couches were all mismatched but cool all the same. Mike and Puck sat at the table playing card but they were the only boys in sight.

Tina went over to sit in Mike's lap and Sugar took up the seat next to Puck. It was all so easy and natural. Such a family, Brittany thought.

"Which one's Sam's room?" Brittany asked after greeting the boys who actually looked happy to see her. "I bought some Gatorade cause I heard he was sick."

Mike pointed to the first door down the hallway.

"Are you decent?" Brittany asked half laughing when she knocked on the door.

"Yeah, come in." Sam croaked.

Brittany pushed the door open and was met with one of the coolest rooms ever. Sam had a plasma TV with an Xbox connected in front of a massive bed. His walls were lined with sports posters and sports shirts. Some basketball and Football but most Baseball. There was a case filled with comic books as well. Sam himself was sitting on his bed, watching a baseball game on the TV.

"Hey." He grinned, his voice croaking and cracking. He was really sick, Brittany thought sympathetically.

"Hey, I got you some Gatorade. I've heard it helps." She passed the bottles over.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that." Sam said with an appreciative smile.

"It's cool." Brittany smiled back.

"Hey, while you're here, wana see some of those comics I was telling you about?" Sam asked hopefully.

Brittany clapped her hands. "Yes!"

Sam rushed over to the book case and started reading the labels, scanning for his favourites. Brittany wondered if he knew how much of a closet geek he was.

"Okay, these are some personal favourite." Sam handed over some older looking copies of Spiderman and batman. "These are genius. Seriously."

Brittan giggled. "Thanks Sam. After I've read them you can tell me about all the parts I won't understand."

Sam grinned before backing away slightly. "You should go. I don't want to make you sick." he said apologetically.

"I never get sick." Brittany said proudly but turned to leave anyway, offering Sam a wave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany was sick.

Santana came home from work at to find her in bed, shivering and coughing. "Britt, what happened?" Santana asked as she felt the girls temperature.

"Got sick." Brittany croaked out.

"I should take you to a doctor."

"Don't be silly. It's just the flu." Brittany smacked her dry lips together.

"Wait her." Santana said and Brittany looked at her with a look that said, 'would I really be going anywhere right now?'

Santana pulled the covers up further around Brittany's shoulders. "You know what I mean, I'll be back soon."

It felt like Brittany only blinked and Santana was pacing a tray on her side tables. Santana gave her lemon and honey tea and some pills along with two water bottles. Brittany was instructed to drink both before she went to sleep.

"You hungry?" Santana asked

Brittany shook her head, _no._

"Need anything else?"

"Just sleep I think." Brittany's nose was blocked so her voice sounded a bit different than usual.

Santana looked at Brittany's alarm clock. "It's late enough now that your body will be able to fall asleep fairly easily I'd say.

Brittany nodded.

"Can I stay?" Santana asked.

"I won't you too, really I do. But I'm not gonna make you sick." Brittany said, matter of fact.

Santana looked grumpy at that. "I won't get sick."

"That's what I said to Sam."

"You don't want this smokin' hot body pressed up nice and close? Your own human hot water bottle? " Santana asked mischievously.

"I won't make you feel like I do now. It's horrible."

"Fine." Santana huffed "Goodnight kiss?"

"I'll make you sick!" Brittany cried exasperated.

"I don't care." Santana said moving closer.

"No, no, no." Brittany held her hand in front of her.

"Just one." Santana whined.

Brittany shook her head. "I really don't want you sick because of me, San."

Santana smiled. "Fine. But I'm just gonna do one little thing okay?"

Brittany's eyes went wide. "Trust me." Santana said smoothly.

Santana grabbed each of Brittany's hands and slowly kissed the palm of each before leaning forward to brush her lips against Brittany's forehead. Brittany's eyes fluttered closed.

"Goodnight Britt." Santana smiled and made her way to the door.

"G'night San." Brittany let her head fall to the pillow but before she could fall asleep, she heard Santana's voice drifting from the hallway.

"Puck, I need a favour…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Brittany woke up, she felt clogged up. Her nose and ears felt like had corks stuck in them and if felt like if she opened her mouth sand would come out. Everything was dry and hot. She reached for the water bottle that had magically appeared and chugged half of it thirstily. She sat up and felt dizzy but stayed sitting up. That's when she noticed a hand written note on her alarm clock.

_Good morning sunshine, you are to stay in bed today. All the girls either have work or class so I got a little something so that I can stay in contact with you and make sure you're okay. As soon as you see it, use it so I know how you're doing. I'll be home as soon as I can. Please rest._

_P.S. loads or Gatorade in the fridge ;)_

_Santana xx_

Brittany was a little confused about the letter until she spotted a black square object resting on the pillow beside her. She picked it up and examined it closely, laughing when she figured out what is was. A walkie talkie. It was heavy and looked like a serious piece of equipment. Brittany wondered where on earth Santana got it from. Brittany held it up to her lips tentatively, held the talk button and spoke.

"Um, hello? San?" Her voice sounded even worse than yesterday. Husky and gritty.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" a voice came back through with a little static.

"I'm feeling…okay. Ah, where are you?"

"That's good. Keep drinking fluids. I'm at work."

"Are these long range walkies?"

"Um…they're police ones…"

"Oh my god."

"It's fine, Puck got them off an old friend. It's the best way to keep in contact with you."

"What about texting or phone calls?"

"Now, where's the fun in that?"

Brittany smiled. She really couldn't believe this.

"Are you bo-" static cut Santana off.

"What was that?"

"Are you bored? I'll be home later and I know _exactly_ how to get your mind of being sick and make you feel good."

"Santana no! We can't do_ that_. I won't make you sick."

"Well, I was going to say I'll play a game of scrabble with you and let you win but I see _someone's _mind is in the gutter."

Brittany laughed. "yeah, yeah, whatever."

"I'm sorry Britt, I've got to go. Puck needs me to help him clean up a guys broken nose. But I'll talk to you in my break. I hope you feel better. Oh and Britt?"

"Yeah?"

"You looked really pretty this morning when I came to put that note beside your bed." And with that the line went dead. Brittany smiled and played with the walkie in her hands.

Brittany couldn't sit around by herself all day, she needed company. She was going back to the scene of the crime.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Sam."

"Brittany...are you sick?

Sam looked exactly like Brittany. A blanket draped over his shoulders, a box of tissues in one hand accompanied by a red nose and mused hair.

"Yup. So I'm gonna hang with you if that's okay." Brittany shuffled past into the apartment.

"Of course. I'm so sorry I made you sick." Sam said sheepishly.

"Shit happens. This just means we get sick bonding time. Pun intended." Brittany winked and Sam brightened.

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked.

"I was thinking I could kick your ass in a game of CoD." Brittany smiled.

"Oh kick my ass? I'd like to see you try." Sam laughed.

"Come on then, let's go wipe that smirk of your face." Brittany said and led them to Sam's room.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So when you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Sam asked as she expertly clicked the appropriate button on his console.

"Hmmm, I guess for a while there I wanted to be a stifftail."

Sam did a double take. "A what?"

"A stifftail duck. They're really pretty. But I grew out of that and decided I wanted to dance. What about you?"

Sam grinned his colossal grin. "Cool. Me? I wanted to play baseball or football but I'm sorta committed to glee now."

"Do you still want to do that?"

"Sometimes I think about it. Baseball was my first love, ya know. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I choose a different path."

"You're still young. I'm sure if you wanted to pursue baseball you would be able to."

Sam shrugged. "I guess. I don't really know what I'm doing right now."

"Killed you." Brittany said and Sam laughed.

"What's being in Glee like?"

"It's a second family. I would trust any of them with my life. Except Kurt, I don't think he'd jump in a pool to save me. Might mess up his hair." Sam winked. "Killed you."

"Dang." Brittany laughed.

"Do you like everyone in Glee?" He asked.

"Yeah, they're all sweet and so accepting of me. I know you have been a tight bunch since high school and I didn't want to intrude or mess up the flow of things."

"I think you fit right in. and I've never seen Santana take to someone so easily either." Sam said absently.

"Santana's great."

"She is. She's loyal like fierce. She might not act like it but I know she would take a bullet for any one of us. Even Rachel. Especially Rachel."

"She doesn't let a lot of people in does she?"

Sam looked over with a smile. "Only a privileged few."

"Did you ever meet her brother?"

"Yeah plenty of times. Great guy. The connection they had was pretty unbelievable. It just seemed like her really got her, ya know?"

Brittany shook her head. "The world can be so cruel."

Sam seemed to understand what she was saying. "I think you can help her a lot. " Sam said.

"With what?"

"Everything. I've always thought she needed someone that took her solely for her, faults and all. She needs a fried like you, especially now."

"How do you not have a girlfriend?" Brittany laughed. "You're so nice!"

Sam blushed. "Oh you like someone don't you!"

Sam looked away, "Aw don't be a hold out!" Brittany whined.

Sam looked back at her. "Who do _you_ like Miss Peirce?"

"I- wh- I don't like anybody."

Sam smiled confidently. "Tell you what. When you're ready to tell me who you like, I'll tell you who I like.

"How did you know I like someone?"

"Because you and me, we're not so different."

"Whatever, oracle Sam. And by the way, I killed you."

Sam threw back his head and laughed. "WHAT? How are you so good at this."

Brittany shrugged. "Like a boss."

Sam paused the game. "Food. We need liquid food… Smoothies?"

"Yes." Brittany slapped her thighs and stood up. On their way into the kitchen Sam and Brittany bumped playfully into each other.

"Okay, what would you like Miss Brittany Berry or chocolate?"

"Berry please." Brittany nodded.

"My smoothie is about to rock your world." Sam assured her.

"Excellent."

"Britt you there?" The walkie talkie in Brittany's pocket bleared.

"Hey san, I'm with Sam. We're making smoothies."

Sam looked surprised at the walkie but accepted it with a shrug and carried on finding ingredients.

"Is he taking care of you? If he's not I'll kick his ass."

"He is San, yes." Brittany chuckled. "How's work?"

"Boring. I really wish I could go home."

"Only a few more hours." Brittany tried to find a silver lining. "and when you get home we can watch Mean Girls. Sugar said Regina George is you idol."

Laughing came through with some static. "That'll be perfect. Can I talk to Sam really quick?"

"Sure." Brittany handed it over to Sam who was shaking his head back and forth.

"Samuel. Pick up the walkie. Now." Santana voice sounded.

Sam sighed. "Yes?"

"You made her sick you dumbass! What have you got to say for yourself? You obviously do not respect a person's personal bubble if your germs managed to transfer to her. Not happy."

"I'm really sorry okay but it's happened now so…if you could bring home some chicken soup for us both we would really like that." Sam held up his thumbs at Brittany and waited for a response.

"Fine."

"Wait really?"

"I'll bring you your damn soup Trouty mouth. Just remember it's to drink not swim in."

"SOUP!" Sam and Brittany yelled together, high fiving each other.

"See you later Trouty, keep her entertained. and Britt?"

"Yeah San." Brittany took the walkie back of Sam.

"Feel better, okay?" Santana said sweetly.

"I'm glad we got to hang." Sam said

"Me too." Brittany grinned. And she was. Sam was a great guy and she could already feel a strong friendship between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There they are." Puck said as he and Santana entered Sam's man cave.

Brittany and Sam were curled up asleep in Sam's bed, the TV playing a football match quietly.

Santana had to admit, it was super cute the way they were both wrapped up nicely under the blankets, breathing heavily like sick people do.

"Want me to take her home?" Puck asked and Santana nodded. Puck bent down and scooped up the sleeping blonde, blanket and all and carried her easily out of the room. Sam slept on, stretching out his legs in the new space. Santana walked over to him.

"You know you're a Twat swat right?" she accused in a whisper before picking up Sam's blanket that had been knocked to the floor and placing it over his big body.

"Night night Trouty mouth."

Santana turned and followed Puck out of the apartment, noticing that Brittany had her walkie talkie clutched tightly in her hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Sam you twat swat getting our Britts sick! Shame on you. So a little bromance in the air for our blondies. And things heating up for Brittana. Wonder what will happen next chapter when Brittany's not sick…?**

**Also are we wanting a small dosage of Faberry or stay away from that? It can go either way.**

**Let me know what you think. More reviews= more motivation= fast update. **

**Mistakes are all mine, sorry :/**


	10. Poker

Chapter 10: Poker

After another two days of being force fed honey and lemon tea as well as some weird Asian brew Mike made, Brittany was loads better. Her voice was still a little husky but her nose had cleared, her body only ached slightly and things were looking up. It was Thursday morning and Brittany had to go to class. She was excited to get back into it but dreading facing Sue. She sighed and stood up from the table. She had to face the music sometime.

"Going to class?" Santana asked. She was reading the paper next to Quinn and she had her glasses on. Brittany thought it made her look like a sexy librarian.

"Yup, I guess…" Brittany said reluctantly.

"Don't let Sue boss you round okay. Go to that angry place and tell her where she can shove her microphone." Santana winked.

"I don't think Brittany has an angry place." Quinn said.

"Sure she does. It's just buried a little deeper than most." Santana shrugged.

"I agree with Santana. Tell her to shove it where the sun don't shine." Quinn grinned her trade mark dazzling grin that Brittany had come to know and love.

"I'll keep that in mind." Brittany chuckled and left the apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is the ginger ninja nut I was telling you about." Sue announced proudly to Brittany's class. "She is here to help out you loveless losers. She's very prestigious in the Broadway dancing realm. She reminds me of a younger somewhat less talented and striking Sue Sylvester."

The small lady frowned at her introduction but stepped forward anyway. "Hi, I'm Emma. Sue said you guys were doing some interpretive dance in a performance? I mostly specialise in ballet but I should be able to help." Emma smiled and Brittany instantly liked her. She was soft spoken and calm but had an air of authority about her.

"Why don't you all start on your pathetic little routines and Emerald and I will come around and demoralise you." Sue saluted Emma who looked horrified.

"What? No I don't think th-" Emma started.

"Let's go ladies and gays!" Sue cut her off.

Mike and Brittany started their routine and Brittany tried extra hard, accenting every move a little more and putting more energy into her performance. It felt like it was good. Mike was moving with her as they flowed as one and when they broke apart their movements were synchronized and technically almost perfect. Brittany grinned as their dancing picked up intensity leading up to the chorus, their movements becoming faster and more desperate at their performance climaxed. And that was when Sue decided to let her thoughts known.

"Brittany spears look-nothing-alike," Sue shouted and Brittany looked up. "Yes you Blondie. I didn't know it was possible to suck_ and_ blow at the same time but congratulations, you have proved me wrong." Brittany stilled her movements along with Mike.

Sue sat there with a smug grin and hideous track suit like she as was the chosen one. Brittany clenched her jaw. She was constantly insulting her and she didn't even know why. It wasn't like she was miles worse than everybody or did anything to piss the older woman off. Brittany gritted her teeth and decided to show her what's what.

"Let's go again Mike. This time throw your punches more dramatically and handle me roughly so it looks authentic."

"You sure, Brittany? I don't want to hurt you…"

"I'll be fine." Brittany nodded reassuringly.

Mike shrugged. Who was he to hold the girl back? She was only trying to make the routine better.

The duo went again and Mike was a little rougher and real with his movements which Brittany liked. It wasn't just for show. When he gripped her wrists and threw her body around he did it with enough force that a viewer would actually be scammed into thinking their choreographed fight was real while making sure that he never overstepped the mark and hurt Brittany.

Emma watched the ordeal play out. The way Sue openly insulted the blonde girl who was obviously the best female dancer in the class. The way the girl clenched her jaw and instructed her partner to go again, the performance even better than the last, flawless. The girl was sticking it to Sue the best way she knew how. She didn't get sulky like the other insulted students had, she turned around and went again, letting her body movements do the talking. Emma instantly respected her for that.

"That's a nice routine." Emma said to Brittany while the class took a break.

"Thank you. I'm Brittany." The blonde extended her hand with a grin. _Nice kid too,_ Emma thought.

"Nice to meet you." Emma smiled back. "And nice to see you again, Mike." Emma new Mike from New directions. She'd watched the group perform countless times.

Mike smiled. "You too Miss Pilsberry."

"Your routine is very…unique. Can't say I've seen much like it in these kind of exams but that could really work in your favour. Who choreographed it?"

"Brittany here did. Pretty cool, huh?" Mike grinned and wrapped his arm around Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany blushed and looked down. "Nah, you could make any choreography look cool, Mike."

_Humble too..._

"Lies!" Mike shouted. "Accept the compliment woman! You worked hard to get that together. Be proud of it." Brittany blushed even deeper and punched Mike in the side playfully.

"How long have you been dancing?" Brittany asked Emma, obviously directing the conversation away from herself.

"Since I was around fifteen. I had OCD and one form of treatment believe it or not was dance. Something about mentally letting go of your worries and anxiety. I've been dancing ever since. What about you?"

"Since I can remember." Brittany smiled.

"What about you, Mike?" Emma asked

"Probably about ten. I wanted a girl to like me so I learnt the moonwalk to show off." Mike chuckled.

"Ah the moonwalk seduction technique." Emma laughed. "A classic."

They all laughed and Emma shared a genuine smile with them both. "Brittany would I be able to talk to you after class?"

"Sure." Brittany said a little surprised.

Emma smiled again and walked off to re-join Sue. Mike and Brittany shared a shrug before heading back to the dance floor. Emma watched with a small smile as Brittany's pure energy was almost tangible as it transferred to her partner as his did to her and they moved with a natural ability that Emma had not seen in a long time.

"What do you think of our little brainless twerps?" Sue asked her.

Emma frowned. "I think they are all talented. Some are exceptional."

Sue raised her eyebrows and Emma tilted her head towards Brittany and Mike.

"Oh, screw loose and Asian paradise?" Sue asked.

"Brittany and Mike." Emma corrected. "They both have something different. It sets them apart. I can't quiet put my finger on it." Emma turned to Sue. "Don't you agree?"

Sue said nothing just returned to her seat and started caressing her microphone.

XXXXXXXXX

As soon as class finished, Brittany barrelled up to Emma, not wanting to make her wait.

"Ah, Brittany," Emma smiled. "I had something I wanted to ask you."

Brittany nodded enthusiastically.

"First though, how much experience and work experience in dance to you have?"

Brittany closed her eyes in thought for a second. "My first classes were when I was five, and I only took ballet. By the time I was ten I was taking ballet and jazz and tap and by the time I was fifteen I was talking hip-hop, interpretive, composition and modern as well as occasional ballroom. I carried all those through till now. In high school I taught kids hip hop but that's about it."

Emma nodded, pleased with what she was hearing. "One of the main reasons I noticed you straight away today, aside from your dancing talent, was your attitude. Sue was hard on you but you picked yourself up and kept going. Most of the other kids let it get to them. Let it affect their performance. But you were professional."

"T-thanks." Brittany said with a blush. She wasn't exactly used to compliments like that.

"That's why I'm offering you a job at my studio. One of my workers tore a ligament in her knee and I need a fill in ASAP."

Brittany stared in shock. This had come at the perfect time. The savings she had made from working for her grandparents all last year were running low and she defiantly needed some income.

"The classes you would be taking are ten to thirteen year old jazz and junior girls hip-hop and interpretive. Those girls are around sixteen, seventeen. Are you interested?"

"Yes!" Brittany shouted, causing other students still in the studio to turn their heads. "I mean, that would be amazing, yes, thank you." Brittany said, unable to believe her luck.

"If you manage to transfer some of your optimism and persistent attitude onto the kids, I'll be a very happy boss." Emma smiled. "Here put your number in my phone and I'll ring you tomorrow with a schedule and the studio address."

"Emma, I can't thank you enough." Brittany shook her head and blow out her cheeks, unable to believe she had gotten a job and that her boss was so lovely. "But am I qualified to work for you?"

"Qualifications don't matter to me. They are only pieces of paper. _Dancing_ is what matters to me and from what I've seen her today, you most definitely can dance. I need someone with fresh ideas and original creativity. I think you can bring that."

"You won't regret this." Brittany assured her.

"I'm hoping not." Emma grinned and turned to walk out of the studio.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"SAN, SAN, SAN!" Brittany chanted as she bounded up the stairs.

Santana shot out of her room looking like she had just woken from a nap. "What! Fire? Where? Did Mercedes leave her straighteners on AGAIN?"

"No," Brittany laughed. "No fire. I got a job at a dance studio, San."

"Britt, that's amazing. I'm so proud of you!" Santana hugged Brittany tightly and squeezed.

"Who offered you the job?"

"Emma… I forgot her last name. She owns a studio not far from here. She's so, so lovely." Brittany squealed.

"Emma…she isn't a ginger is she?" Santana asked.

"Yes she is!"

"Emma Pilsberry?"

"That's her! How do you know her?"

"No way." Santana shook her head. "That's Mr Shue's wife."

"The guy that runs New Directions?" Brittany asked confused.

"Yeah, small world, huh?"

Brittany laughed. "Yeah it really is."

"So, let's celebrate your new job and win some money."

"What are you talking about?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Poker night of course." Santana winked and leaned in to kiss Brittany on the cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Britt, I got some vapour rub, it'll help with your cold." _Santana said as she popped her head around the door._

_Brittany sat up in bed and motioned for her to come over. "Can you put it on me?" Brittany asked with a crackly voice._

"_Sure." Santana said and sat behind the blonde with a leg on either side. "I'm gonna have to unzip your onesie though, okay?"_

_Brittany nodded and felt her pyjama's being zipped down, when Santana told her, she shrugged out of the shoulders, left with only her bra._

_Santana smeared the vapour rub on her upper back and smoothed it in circles. The smell hit Brittany first, it was minty and sharp. She liked it though. It reminded her of the anti-flam ointment she used on her sore muscles after dance. Then the coolness of it hit her skin and she shivered but Santana's warm hands almost instantly countered the cold. After a few minutes of rubbing it started to burn slightly but it was a nice burn, deep and comforting. _

_Santana's hands continued to move in circles until every last bit was rubbed in. Brittany's head hung forward at Santana's touch. It was so gentle and safe. Brittany couldn't remember ever being touched like she was the most important thing in the world. But that's how she felt then. _

_When Santana pulled her hand away, a whimper left Brittany's mouth. Santana's lip brushed against her neck and Brittany lay back into her. Santana wrapped her arms around the blonde and pulled her back. They stayed like that for god knows how long. It could have been minutes or hours. Brittany didn't know and she didn't care. _

_Brittany yawned despite herself and Santana placed a kiss beneath Brittany's ear. "You need to go to sleep."_

_Brittany could only manage a nod. She didn't know when she'd become so tired._

"_I don't care about your sick rules, I'm sleeping here tonight."_

"_But..sick and you..could..be." Brittany mumbled sleepily, too tired to form a coherent sentence._

_Santana zipped up Brittany's onesie but not before kissing between Brittany's shoulder blades._

_Santana lay down and Brittany curled into her side, craving the immense warmth she was exerting._

_Santana ran her hands back and forth through Brittany's hair until the girl feel asleep._

Brittany snapped out of her flashback of two nights ago. Santana had been so sweet to her while she was sick. Brittany smiled and wondered how they were so comfortable with each other already. It wasn't lost on her that touches between them had be lasting longer, looks more lustful. Brittany couldn't deny that she wanted to tap that. Santana was a goddess with an amazing personality. She was special. If they were going to do…that, shouldn't it be special too?

Brittany looked at the clock, sighing. It had only just gone two o'clock and she was bored. Santana had to go to work and the other girls were doing their own thing. 'Poker night' was still hours away. Brittany threw the TV remote up and down aimlessly, staring at the wall.

After a good few minutes of remote chucking and wall staring, Brittany's phone chimed in her pocket.

_**YO! You at home? - Sam**_

Brittany quickly text back.

_**Yes! And so unbearably bored, HELP. –Brittany**_

_**Never fear, Sam is here! – Sam**_

_**You are the biggest dork ever- Brittany**_

_**Excuse me but I'm pretty sure I'm securely in 2**__**nd**__** place after Finn. Sam is offended! –Sam**_

**Is **_**Sam**_** talking in 3****rd**** person? Because that clearly gains **_**Sam**_** 1****st**** place in dork rankings :P –Brittany**

_**Hahaha BURN. Get your sports gear on, I'm picking you up in 10 minutes –Sam**_

Brittany raced upstairs and chucked on her shorts, trainers and favourite hoodie. Then she heard a knock at the door.

"Hey Sam! What're we…" Brittany stopped short when Sam's outfit said all she needed to know. He was decked out in baseball gear, the tight white pants, striped shirt and baseball cap accompanied by a couple of mitts, a ball and a bat resting against his shoulder.

"Hi." Sam grinned. "Ready for some fun with Sam?" he wiggled his eyebrows and Brittany shoved him playfully.

"Such a dork!" she laughed heartily and he hit her in the backside with his bat to get her moving. "Let's go, Pierce. I'm gonna teach you how to get a home run."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Sam had taken her down to the batting cages where Brittany had insisted he get in there and show her how it was done. Sam was a well-built guy and obviously spent a lot of time working out but Brittany was still surprised at how hard he could hit a ball. A machine shot out ball after ball and Sam smashed them with his bat, not missing one. The crack of contact echoed almost until the crack of the next. Brittany cheered for him and near the end of his run Sam had drawn a small audience, mostly young boys and a few teenagers. After his last ball Sam's face transformed from concentration and focus to pure joy. Brittany slapped his back and pulled his cap down over his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me you're so good?" Brittany shouted as she pulled on his cap.

Sam shrugged. "I'm not that great."

Brittany tugged on his arm. "Hell yes you are."

Sam smiled and his eyes twinkled. "How am I supposed to follow that?" Brittany sighed and Sam laughed.

"You played before?" he asked

"Sure but not much, I don't have much of a technique."

"Show me."

Brittany brought the bat back and took a swing. "Alright, not bad." Sam nodded. "Next time square your shoulders a little more."

Brittany took another swing and felt more power surge through her shoulders.

"Good." Sam stepped forward. "Now move your hands down and relax your wrists. Your sweet spot is just here," he pointed to a spot near the end of the bat. "If you get it there, it'll go all the way." Sam stepped out of the cage and put money in the machine. "Don't hold back on that swing."

Brittany nodded and stepped up, holding the bat in ready position. After a beat a white ball came flying at her. She squared her shoulders and swung through the ball, like Sam had. She heard a thwack at she connected with the ball and sent it flying in into the cage netting.

"WHOOOO!" Sam cheered and jumped, encouraging her.

Brittany stopping grinning for long enough to see the second ball flying at her and swung again, earning an even more satisfying crack. The force of the ball sent vibrations down the bat and Brittany felt her fingers tingle. A third ball came and the situation of being in a confined space with balls whizzing was more than enough to get adrenaline pumping through her. Brittany hit ball after ball, missing on the odd occasion but being built back up by Sam's encouraging words and advice.

After smacking the crap out of her last ball Sam scooped Brittany up into a bear hug.

"Are you KIDDING me, Pierce? How did I not know you were so good at this? Sam is impressed."

Brittany blushed and Sam picked up their gear, heading for a food truck. After buying them both a pretzel and drink, they sat down at a table.

"You must have played baseball before…"Sam prompted.

"I've played it twice when my school team needed a fill in. I was kind of the go to girl if sports teams didn't have enough players 'cause of injuries."

Sam laughed in disbelief. "Wait, so even if you never played a sport before, you sometimes got called in to cover?"

"I'm alright with sports and hands on stuff." Brittany shrugged.

"What kind of sports called you in?"

Brittany took a sip of her drink and thought. "Soccer, lacrosse, basketball, swimming and once even for wrestling. I didn't like that though. I thought the chick was trying to cop a feel the whole time."

Sam chuckled. "You know normally people stick to one or two sports."

"Not Brittany." Brittany said with a smirk. "Was it just baseball and football for you in high school?"

"No I had my go a synchronised swimming too."

Brittany laughed and almost spat out her drink. "No way!"

"Yes way. The coach was always insulting my lips. She said she 'ain't never seen lips like that on a white child.'" Sam put on a voice as he said this and Brittany really did spit her drink out that time.

After her laughter calmed down she made sure to console Sam. "Aw your lips are fine, Sambo." She grinned, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I blame the parents. Genetics are a bastard." Sam sighed and pouted, causing Brittany to laugh more.

"Come on, let's play catch." Sam said, dragging Brittany her off her seat and throwing her a mitt.

"Sam, let's play secret!"

"What's that?"

"Every time you drop the ball you get a letter and it you drop the ball enough to spell secret, then you have to tell the other person a secret."

"You're going down." Sam teased. "We need to get rid of the mitts though or else we'll be her all night. Oh and catch with your weak hand."

"You're on."

By the time they were finished their game, this is what Brittany knew about Sam.

He once sleep walked into the kitchen and pissed into the fruit bowl in front of his visiting aunty.

He has a secret photo collection of Jessica Alba because she's 'God's gift to earth.'

He pissed himself after Santana hid behind his chair in the choir room and scared the shit out of him but ran out before anyone could notice.

Sam made Brittany swear not to tell anyone the last one because Santana would have a field day if she found out.

This is what Sam knew about Brittany.

She once caught the matron and master of her school boarding house going at it in the pool changing rooms and pissed herself laughing.

Her cat Lord Tubington can cook a better meal than she can.

Her first crush was Charlie off Charlie's angels.

"_How can that be a crush? You didn't even see him…" Sam asked confused. Brittany chucked the ball back before answering. _

"_Hello, his voice was like, the sexiest thing ever and he was so mysterious and intelligent…" Sam laughed and admitted that simply the sound of someone's voice could be enough to make a person crush on them._

Her teacher had once written 'LOL' when marking one of her exam papers in high school, followed by 'WTF?' on the next page.

She had helped egg Sue's car earlier that morning.

"Come on, let's get you home. Santana text to say you guys are having a poker night tonight, no interruptions." Sam said as he picked up their gear and fell into step next to Brittany.

"Oh yeah. She mentioned something about scamming Sugar out of hundreds of dollars?"

"Sounds about right." Sam chuckled. "I have to warn you though…Santana can get pretty…intense when it comes to poker."

"How intense we talking?"

"Kurt when talking about the difference bet silk and satin intense."

"Oh lord." Brittany whistled.

"When she's in the zone don't look her in the eye, just stare at your cards. Don't provoke the beast."

"Santana's not a beast." Brittany growled.

"Just kidding." Sam grinned.

"You weren't kidding."

"No, I was not."

Brittany shoved Sam who shouted, "DOMESTICS, HELP!"

He looked kind of ridiculous though seeing as Brittany was only half his size and weight. Brittany rolled her eyes but laughed. She couldn't help it. Sam was a massive goof.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany hadn't really noticed how much of a big deal this whole poker night thing was until right at this moment. She was sat around a smallish round table with all the other girls apart from one, Santana.

"Where is that damn girl?" Mercedes huffed.

Quinn chewed on a chip and shrugged. Rachel lent up to adjust the light above the table but Tina slapped her hand away.

"S, hurry up!" Quinn shouted in the general direction of the stairs.

A moment later the thudding of footsteps could be heard and Santana came sliding into the lounge in her socks, poker set in hand. She sat in her seat across from Brittany and started setting up the table and passed the cards to Tina.

"You deal, I gots to get my gear on." Santana said before sprinting from the room. She was really excited and Brittany found it extremely adorable.

"What gear? We're playing _cards_." Mercedes frowned.

Tina dealt and as she lay out the last card, Santana re-appeared. Brittany's heart swelled to twice its normal size and then melted at the sight of her. Santana had swapped the jeans and top that she had been wearing for a baggy Ohio State hoddie, grey sweats and a red sox cap. She was also wearing dark aviators and was cradling a 6-pack of beer under her arm. Let's not forget the cigar hanging from her lips.

Rachel took one look at her before dropping her head to bang on the table top. Quinn, Tina and sugar burst out laughing at the sight of her. Sugar wolf whistled and then winked at Brittany.

"Okay, okay." Mercedes held her hands up and pointed to Santana. "Who invited Burt hummel?"

The girls burst out laughing again and Santana hissed, literally hissed at Mercedes.

Brittany couldn't tear her eyes away from Santana's attire. She looked like what her grandfather wore while he watched the playoffs. But God was she adorable.

"What's with the shades?" Sugar asked.

"Your ignorance astounds me." Santana sighed. "It's what the pro's wear so it's harder for their opponents to read them."

Sugar shrugged. "Game time."

Brittany looked at Santana who caught her eye and smiled that gorgeous friggin smile. "Game time." Santana repeated, not taking her eyes off Brittany.

About halfway through their third game it was evident that Santana was the master at poker but Brittany was somehow level with her because of the un-natural amount of luck she was receiving. Sugar was possibly worse at math than Brittany and Mercedes needed to learn how to cheat better. Rachel obviously hated the game and had lost the most amount of money besides Sugar. Tina had hung onto her bag of chips like a lifeline when Santana aggressively trashed talked her and Quinn was managing to play poker, staying not far behind Brittany as well as playing angry birds _and_ painting her toenails.

Santana had just won the third game and scooped up her money from Sugar. "Don't ever, ever go to Las Vegas." She advised Sugar.

"I'm ordering pizza." Mercedes slapped the table to get everyone's attention. "Quinn, Sugs and Tina you guys like peperoni, extra cheese right? You okay with that Brittany?"

"Cool." Brittany nodded.

"What about you, Burt. Preferences?"

"Bite me." Santana scowled and tugged her cap further on her head.

After another round Rachel had her head in her hands, quietly sobbing at her loses. Quinn comforted her while beating her high score on temple run. Girl could multi-task.

Brittany bit her lip as she looked down at her cards. Two pairs. She looked across at Santana who wore a small smirk. She couldn't see where she was looking because of the glasses and it slightly frustrated her. Although, when Santana's ankle brushed up against Brittany's leg, she could guess what the smirk was for. They carried on playing and Santana's smooth legs continued to brush along Brittany's. When it was Brittany's turn to deal she felt Santana's foot moving higher until it was resting on the inside of her thigh. Santana's sexy smirk remained and that made it even harder for Brittany to concentrate.

Brittany tried to deal the cards but unbelievably Santana moved her foot even higher, causing Brittany to drop all the cards.

"Oh S-sorry I- I didn't, S-sorry." Brittany stuttered and tried to pick up the cards.

"Don't worry about it." Tina smiled. "And you certainly don't need to blush over that.

Brittany gulped, blushing harder and looked pleadingly at Santana, assuming she was looking back behind her glasses. She couldn't even function with Santana's foot in her lap. Santana laughed softly and removed her foot from Brittany's crotch area.

The games went on, the pizza came and went, drinks were added to the table and the atmosphere got more rowdy.

"Rachel, stop blubbering, you'll be able to earn this all back in a few short months." Santana smirked and swiped her winnings from Rachel.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" Brittany chanted for Santana.

"I'm out." Rachel said.

"Don't be such a loser. All you have to do it win a round and you'll earn back at least half of what you lost."

"No, I know your little mind games, Santana. You just want to con me out of my hard earned money."

"Your call." Santana said simply.

"Ugh. Fine."

After the next round Santana was collecting more of her winnings. "Suck it, man hands. Guess you won't be buying any of that fancy cheese you like so much for a while."

"I'm actually really glad about that. I don't think Rachel understands that food with mould growing on it can make you sick." Sugar whispered in Brittany's ear.

"New drinking game." Rachel declared. "Every time Santana's a _bitch_, have a shot."

"We could seriously die from alcohol poisoning if we play that." Mercedes said.

Rachel was getting really mad now. You could see it in her face but Santana was a closed book, her face a mask of calm.

Santana flicked off her glasses and tilted her head slightly. "How about every time Rachel Berry talks about herself, have a shot? Or better still, every time Rachel _talks_, have a shot?"

Rachel lent over the table and slapped Santana's hand, sending her cards flying. Santana stared at them for a second before turning back to face Rachel, her calm mask now a deathly glare.

"Oh…" Quinn gasped

"I don't think you understand the gravity of what you just did."

Rachel audibly gulped.

"You touched my cards, Bitch. Not only that…you _scattered_ them." Santana shook her head.

"You really think tonight is a good night to be messing with me? I'm wearing a fucking cap, I've been practically verging on throwing a punch ever since I put the damn thing on."

Rachel's eyes widened. Santana felt Brittany run her leg soothingly over her own and instantly calmed.

"I had a losing hand, you know. You," Santana sat up in her seat to see Rachel's cards that she had discarded in front of herself. "You had a winning hand, a straight. Nobody could have beaten that. You would have won back almost everything you lost. What have I told you about being rash, Rachel Berry?"

Brittany was taken aback by Santana's calm tone. Only a second ago Brittany thought she might very well jump over the table and deck her. She figured she had something to do with it and continued their little game of footsies.

Rachel's mouth opened and closed silently.

"But, I'm going to pick up my cards and play the round anyways 'cause you're buying me lunch tomorrow and I want something decent." Santana pulled her hood up and leaned down to rest on her folded arms.

Quinn, Tina and Mercedes exchanged 'WTF' looks but played the round anyway.

Sure enough, Rachel won and got back a lot of what she lost.

Quinn picked up Santana's aviators and threw them on, obviously a little tipsy. "Who am I?... Bitch, PUH-lease." Quinn raised one finger in and swung it back and forth in the air.

"Santana!" Sugar yelled and Brittany giggled.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Who am I?" Santana coughed and put on an angelic voice. "I can't go out, I'm just getting into a book. Oh bother, I can't make dinner, my books reaching its 'climax'. _I _myselfhaven't reached a climax in a loooong time."

Everyone apart from Quinn laughed at Santana's impersonation of the petite blonde.

Quinn crossed her arms angrily.

"Sorry honey but you're the one that entered this battle of wits unarmed." Santana wiggled her eyebrows and Quinn cracked a grin. "Okay, I think I've offended enough people for one night, bed time." Santana stood up and the other girls stood too.

They exchanged goodnights and headed off to bed. Brittany was confused and disappointed when Santana disappeared into her room without as much as a goodnight. Brittany brushed her teeth and padded back to her room, the house already fairly quiet.

Brittany opened her door and got butterflies at the sight of Santana sitting on her bed.

"Hey. You look…relieved?" Santana said a little confused.

"I am. I thought you'd gone to bed without saying goodnight." Brittany smiled sheepishly and scuffed the carpet with her big toe.

Santana moved to stand in front of the blonde and kissed her on the cheek. "You are so damn adorable."

"You're the adorable one in all your 'poker gear.'"

It was Santana's turn to smile sheepishly.

"I really thought you couldn't get much cuter but…the aviators. Really, San?"

Santana laughed and pulled Brittany onto the bed. "Actually I thought maybe we could have a couple games of our own." Santana held up her deck of cards. "Seeing as the others are complete muppets and don't know how to play properly."

Brittany giggled and nodded. "I thought it was really sweet that you'd lose so Rachel could get her money back."

"What can I say, I'm an American sweetheart." Santana smiled.

"You're so pretty, San." Brittany blurted randomly. _Talk about word vomit_, Brittany thought.

Santana ducked her head and just chuckled. "Come on, let's play."

They played the first round and Brittany won. Brittany noticed Santana slip her socks off. She didn't blame her, it was hot in here.

They played again and somehow Brittany won once more and Santana huffed but proceeded to take her thick hoddie off. Brittany stilled her movements. It couldn't be…. _Nah_, Brittany thought. It _is_ really hot in here, that's why she's taking her clothes off.

They played a third round and Santana beat Brittany with two high pairs. Santana scooted forward and grabbed a hold of the bottom of Brittany's jumper. "You wanna play?" Santana asked huskily.

Brittany nodded and lifter her arms for Santana to strip off her jumper. "You sure?" Santana asked again.

Brittany nodded and felt a smile creep over face. That smile disappeared quickly when she realised exactly what was about to unfold here.

There were a few things running through her mind at this point in time.

_Poker_

_Strip_

_STRIP_

_STRIP POKER._

_WE'RE PLAYING STRIP POKER_

_Clothes are going to be striped._

_SANTANA'S CLOTHES ARE GOING TO BE STRIPED._

_MY CLOTHES.._

_OH GOD._

_Calm down._

_HOLY MOTHER OF GOD STRIP POKER._

_I'm playing strip poker with Santana Lopez._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Ooooh you hate me right now don't you? I'm sorry guys, really...**

**I'M NOT SORRY!**

**But seriously, I love every one of you that read this fic and anyone that leaves those incredible reviews. Pat yourself on the back :)**

**A 'onesie' is a one piece pyjama suit. Brittany would SO have one of those.**

**Questions, constructive criticism, thoughts? Hit me up **

**Sorry for mistakes but would you rather it be up faster with poor grammar or slower with same content just way better structure? Your call ;)**


	11. Baseball and baseball caps

**Man oh man, some of your guys review literally make my week, thank you so friggin much!**

**So where were we?...ah yes….**

Chapter 11: Baseball

Oh wow. Strip poker. Brittany should have seen this coming. The footsies and flirting at dinner had all been leading up to this. This exact point in time. Thank God Brittany somehow managed to be half decent at poker and had won the last round. Santana was looking down at her body. She still had her pants, good. She had her shirt with a tank top underneath, better. Santana striped the top and smirked when she saw that Brittany looked disappointed that there was another layer covering her torso.

Lucky for Santana, Brittany's luck didn't last and she lost the next round. Brittany huffed and began undoing her belt.

"Wooo! I got your pants, Pierce." Santana cheered.

Brittany removed her belt and chucked it over her chair. Santana pouted when she didn't move again.

"What? A belt is an item of clothing." Brittany shrugged.

Santana scrunched her nose. "That's so not fair."

Brittany shrugged and her eyes twinkled cheekily.

Santana had to win the next round. She had to.

"Deal." Santana handed Brittany the cards with a look of pure determination.

Brittany sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Determined Santana was hot. Santana won next, smacking the bed with her palm excitedly. Brittany giggled and striped her top off, watching Santana's eyes go wide and her teeth biting down on her bottom lip. Brittany was glad she had worn one of her lace bras today. She slipped the material from her body and threw it to the floor.

"Damn." Santana muttered, eyes' roaming over Brittany's toned torso and full chest.

Santana reached out and ran a single finger in between the valley of Brittany's breasts, over her taut stomach muscles and over her belly button, stopping momentarily to play with Brittany's belly button piercing. Her finger travelled down further south over Brittany's lowest abdomen muscle and stilled at the waist band of Brittany's shorts. Santana watched her own finger for a second before seemingly snapping out of a daze.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Santana said looking rather confused. "I have no idea why I just did that."

Brittany giggled and Santana smiled sheepishly.

"Couldn't contain yourself?" Brittany asked with a giggle.

"Guess not." Santana laughed slightly embarrassed.

Brittany laughed and dealt the next hand, grinning when she got an almost unbeatable line up. When she won Santana cursed and pulled off her tank top. Brittany took in the sight of Santana's caramel chest covered in a silky black bra. It accentuated her assets perfectly. Her smooth stomach looked even sexier in the dim lighting and Brittany heard her breath stutter a little. Santana grinned and mover closer to the blonde, placing a hand on her knee.

"You wanna keep going?" Santana asked quietly and Brittany nodded.

Santana smiled and shuffled the cards. Now that both girls were down to bras, the atmosphere was most definitely heating up. Brittany won the next round and her grin grew to epic proportions.

"Got your pants, Lopez!"

Santana sighed and stripped off her pants. Brittany blew out a breath. This was the most exposed she had ever seen Santana and it was incredible. The girl undoubtedly had the best body she had ever seen. Her lace panties looked so gorgeous wrapped around her slim but defined legs. Brittany heard Santana cough and ripped her gaze away from Santana's underwear to see Santana smirking.

Brittany was unfocused the entire next round, knowing what would happen if she won. Either Santana's panties of bra had to go…The blonde shook her head and tried to get her mind out of the gutter. It didn't work. It was this distraction that caused Santana to win the next round easily.

"The pants have gotz to go." Santana stated, looking at Brittany with dark eyes.

Brittany followed instructions and removed her jean shorts. Santana's eyes went noticeably darker and she licked her lips as she roamed her eyes over Brittany's scarcely clad body.

Santana locked eyes with Brittany and in one swift movement swept all of the cards off the bed onto the floor, pushing Brittany onto her back.

"You scattered your own cards." Brittany said in mock horror.

"I couldn't hold back anymore, it was killing me." Santana said before leaning down to kiss Brittany. Brittany's hands made their way to Santana's lower back, resting there with the nails digging into skin slightly. Santana's tongue delved into Brittany's mouth and both girls moaned when their tongues met. They were like velvet against each other, lazy but aggressive at the same time.

Santana pulled back and hovered over Brittany with her hands pushing against the mattress either side of Brittany's head.

"Your body…" Santana trailed off, biting her lip. "So hot."

Brittany giggled and pulled Santana down and onto her back. She started kissing up Santana's neck much to the delight of the Latina who had begun slowly rocking her hips forward beneath her. Brittany trailed her kisses to the underside of Santana's jaw and stopped abruptly when she felt the texture change. Brittany ducked her head to look at the spot she had been kissing and sure enough, there was a long, thin scar on the left side of Santana's face, just under her jaw line.

Brittany instantly felt a wave of guilt. She didn't know how Santana got that scar. Just like she didn't know what Santana's favourite colour was or what her favourite flavour of cake was. She didn't know if Santana had ever broken a bone or crashed her car or what her first job was. She didn't know what Santana loved and hated, what she lived for and what she couldn't live without. The scar was just a reminder that Brittany didn't really _know_ Santana.

Brittany liked Santana so, so much. Did she really want to be doing this before she knew all about her? Brittany didn't want this to be like all the other times. She wanted Santana to feel special because that is exactly what she was.

"Britt, everything okay?" Santana asked with her big doe eyes.

Brittany groaned. She really couldn't believe she was blue balling them both.

"I…Santana I like you and I don't think I'm ready, or you're ready.." Brittany sighed. "I don't think _we're_ ready for this just yet. I think we should get to know each other better before.." Brittany pointed down at their bodies that looked completely melted into each other.

Santana's eyebrows furrowed and Brittany stumbled over her words to reassure her.

"But don't think that I don't want this 'cause I want this _so_ bad and I can't believe I'm doing this to myself. To you! You're so...ugh you're so unbelievably hot and.." Brittany looked down at the Latina goddess beneath her. "Why am I stopping this again?" Brittany asked.

"You're right, Britt." Santana smiled. "We shouldn't rush this."

"But you're so hot." Brittany whined.

"The wait will make it better."

"You think?"

"I know. What do you want to know?"

Brittany looked confused and cocked her head to the side.

"You said you wanted to learn more about me?"

Brittany nodded and leaned down to kiss the underside of Santana's jaw softly. "This scar…where did you get it?"

Santana frowned and automatically went to her go-to lie for the scar.

"I was mugged and the guy beat me round a bit too."

Brittany's jaw dropped. "That's horrible! Where were you when it happened?"

"Walking home after Cheerio's practice. It was dark and the guy snuck up on me."

"What did he want?"

"Money, watches, valuables, anything. But I had nothing on me 'cause I'd only been at school. He got mad and frustrated and swung at me a few times with this rusty old pipe he had. I managed to dodge a few but he cornered me and got me good." Santana touched her scar. It had faded greatly over time and you wouldn't exactly notice it unless you were looking. It was a clean cut and that was why it had healed so well.

Santana felt like shit spurting that lie on Brittany but she knew it was for the best. The truth would only make a mess.

"San…"

Santana noticed Brittany's sad face and decided a change of subject was in order.

"When did you get this?" Santana asked, placing a hand over top of Brittany's belly button piecing.

Brittany looked reluctant to change topic but caught the hint that Santana didn't want to talk about it any longer.

"When I was sixteen."

"It's sexy."

Brittany blushed. "What about you? What piercings do you have?"

"My ears in a few paces and my nipple."

Brittany's eyes went wide.  
"Just kidding." Santana laughed. "Hells no am a sending a needle through my nips. Those things are sensitive." Santana rubbed her palms over her bra with a pained look on her face and Brittany burst out laughing.

"What about tattoo's?" Brittany asked, moving so that she was on her side facing Santana who mirrored her position.

"I don't have any but I'm not against the idea. Though, if I got a tattoo it would have to be very, very special, because they stay with you for life." Santana nodded in thought. "Yeah, for me to get a tattoo, it would have to have like, heaps of meaning and shit behind it."

Brittany smiled. "I'm the same."

Santana returned the smile. "What else would you like to know?"

"Favourite Disney character?"

"Pluto."

"Favourite soda?"

"Grape." Santana giggled.

"Favourite holiday?"

"Christmas, duh." Santana grinned.

"Favourite sandwich?"

"PB and J." Brittany clapped excitedly, "Mine too!"

"Best memory?" Brittany liked how their little game had become like a quick fire round. Brittany would shoot the questions and Santana would answer in quick sentences.

"Family camping vacation when I was fourteen. We ate smores for three days straight. _And _winning nationals with Glee senior year."

"Worst memory?"

Santana's lips parted and eyebrows furrowed. Brittany's literally face palmed, "Don't answer that." Nice one pierce, not only has her brother recently died but she just told you a story about being mugged and you ask 'worst memory'. Smooth.

But when Brittany looked up Santana was smiling.

"Wow, Britt. You just smacked yourself in the face."

Brittany chose to ignore that comment and continued questioning.

"What do you hate most in the world?"

"Injustice."

"Best on family holiday?"

"Spain and Puerto Rico."

"Want to go back some day?"

"Definitely."

"If you could go to one place in the world right now, where would you go?"

"Mexico."

Brittany smiled and looked even deeper into Santana's amazingly rich eyes.

"Most embarrassing moment."

Santana visibly blushed. "Getting so wasted at a party in senior year that I started…humping a shrub." Brittany burst out laughing at this.

"That's not even the worst part." Santana grimaced.

"What is?" Brittany prompted.

"I had a sex dream about the same shrub later that night."

Brittany rolled onto her back and held her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughing.

"Stop laughing." Santana poked her side but was smiling.

"You're funny." Brittany concluded, causing Santana's smile to grow bigger.

"Okay…first time." Brittany wiggled her eyebrows.

"My sixteen birthday party."

"Who was it?"

"Ugh, it was Puck."

"No friggin way."

Santana scrunched her nose. "I wish I had waited. I mean, Puck was gentle and caring and stuff but I didn't even like him that much. I never really did. What about you?"

Brittany laid her head back on the pillow. "A guy called Danny Bowen. I was fifteen, got drunk, it happened. I was too young and naïve."

"The first time's pretty mediocre for almost everyone I think."

"I think if you have the right person it would be amazing. I guess as teenagers we weren't exactly willing to wait for that right person."

Santana stayed silent and Brittany thinks maybe she's had enough of talking but then she surprises her with a question.

"What makes you happy?"

"Dancing, friends, baseball." Brittany laughed thinking about her baseball session with Sam. "You."

Santana ducked her head and grabbed a hold of Brittany's fingers. "Baseball huh?"

"Yup. Sam has recently introduced to the magnificence of smashing the crap out of a moving object with a specially made moving object smashing bat." Brittany declared and Santana laughed. "How about you? What makes you happy?"

"Singing, friends, Glee." Santana paused for a beat. "You."

Brittany smiled and placed a chaste kiss on Santana's cheek.

"Most awkward situation you've ever been in?" Santana asked.

"Caught the Matron and Master of my boarding house having sexy times in the changing room," Brittany shuddered. "But then I laughed so hard I pissed myself." Brittany clapped her hand over her mouth, not believing she had shared that information.

Santana laughed so hard she had tears rolling down her cheeks. She had to bite on her fist to keep herself quiet.

"That is too good." Santana giggled and Brittany joined her. It was kind of funny.

"Okay I got one." Santana said after a few more chuckles. "First crush."

Brittany looked down sheepishly. "Miss Roux, my French teacher."

"Awww Britt." Santana cooed, stroking Brittany's cheek. "Why?"

"She was really pretty and had this thick accent." Brittany smiled. "But she had a boyfriend and was maybe ten years older than me."

"Dang." Santana clicked her fingers. "You could have been in there!" Brittany pouted and Santana's mocking tone and Santana leaned forward to kiss the pout away.

"What about you?"

Santana's goofy smile slipped from her lips. "I tell people my first crush was Taylor Lawrence, the quarterback at my school at the time."

"But who was it really?"

It was Santana's turn to look sheepish now. "Maddy…God I can't even remember her last name. She was head cheerleader when I was a freshman."

"What did you like about her?"

"She was really pretty. Probably the prettiest in school. She was sweet and kind to me, she took me under her wing. But man was she ruthless to the other girls. She would completely cut them down and add insult to injury whenever possible. But she was an amazing leader too."

"She sounds great." Brittany smiled because she knew the type. Hell, _the type_ was lying next to her in bed. "Did it freak you out that you were crushing on a girl?"

"Totally. It didn't help that my family are like crazy religious and that kind of thing is a total sin. So I shrugged it off, didn't act on it."

"What about…now?" Brittany asked cautiously.

"I'm not sure. I..I don't even know how this is supposed to work. What're you anyway?" Santana asked defensively

Brittany shrugged. "I like who I like."

"Do people know that about you?"

Brittany's gaze skimmed over the ceiling. "I guess, I really don't have people to know that about me. But my parents and grandparents don't know." Brittany shook her head.

"You make it sound so simple...to just 'like who you like.'"

"It is that simple."

"It's not. The world is a cruel place, Britt."

Brittany rested her hands on her stomach. "I know."

"I gotta have a cold shower." Santana moved to get up. "Cause you totally left me high and dry there."

"Not exactly _dry_." Brittany grinned and Santana gasped.

"Come back, after your shower." Brittany pleaded.

Santana smiled and backed to the door. "Of course."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany's vision was black around the edges and blurry as she desperately tried to stay awake but to no avail. Her eyes slipped closed and her muscles relaxed. A happy whimper left her lips as her covers were lifted and a warm body slid in next to her. Santana scooted as close as she could get and wrapped her arms around Brittany's front. She kissed Brittany's exposed neck and got comfy.

Brittany sighed contently when she felt Santana's warm hands on her bare stomach. Santana had that freshly showered smell the Brittany loved, her shampoo scent settling over the two of them.

"Britt, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Nothing…" Brittany murmured.

"Not nothing anymore. You're hanging out with me." Santana ran her hand over the blonde's stomach.

"It that a question or a statement?" Brittany muttered sleepily.

"Like you don't wanna spend time with this hot piece of ass." Santana said with a laugh.

"True…" Brittany nodded and yawned.

"It's settled then. You're all mine tomorrow night." Brittany felt Santana smile into her neck.

"Buenas noches hermosa niña." Santana whispered.

"I love it when you speak spanish…" Brittany whispered back before falling asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_**So what do you say? -Sam**_

Brittany read the text and grinned.

_**Oh it's on. Bring your best game, Evens. - Brittany**_

Sam had just invited all the girls down to the pitching fields to play a game of 'friendly' baseball and Brittany had promised she'd get the girls down there for a game.

Brittany crossed the hall to Santana's room and knocked before opening the door. "Baseball with the boys, you in?"

"Mmhmm." Santana hummed as she went to her draws extracting the same baseball cap she wore for poker night.

"You're so cute." Brittany grinned before leaving Santana's door way in search of the others.

"Quinn, Rach! Wanna play some baseball with the boys right now?"

Quinn surprised Brittany when she shouted excitedly and bounded up the steps to get her gear on. Rachel didn't look so convinced.

"Ah, I'm not exactly good at baseball. My hand eye co-ordination is lacking due to my-"

"Hey Rachel, think fast!" Brittany said as she grabbed one of the vases off the cabinet and hurled it towards the brunette. The throw was intentionally a little off causing Rachel to run and jump to catch the vase. She caught it and it was actually quite a spectacular save.

"What are you talking about lacking in hand eye? If you can catch that, you can catch a measly baseball." Brittany reassured.

Rachel looked at Brittany like she was insane but slowly nodded. Santana came up behind Brittany and laid a hand on her ass, angling her body so Rachel wouldn't see. Brittany's breath caught in her throat.

"Good teaching techniques, Britt." Santana nodded before continuing on to the kitchen.

Brittany could see Rachel's confidence growing from her catch and she hopped she hadn't unleashed Rambo Rachel again, although that was a sight for sore eyes.

Brittany spent a good twenty minutes convincing Mercedes and Tina to come and participate in the baseball and Sugar had willingly accepted the invitation, throwing on her tight pink baseball pants with a matching cap. Brittany shook her head in disbelief. Who knew they sold that kind of stuff in pick.

About forty minutes later they were all parked up at the baseball fields dividing themselves into two teams. Sam was one team captain while Brittany was the other. Puck had complained about this but Sam had quickly shut him up.

"Brittany could hit further then you with her eyes shut and one hand behind her back,"

"Dude, I should be other team captain. She's a chick, does she even know how to play?"

Sam strode up to Puck. "In this family we treat the women with respect and equality. Brittany is a good player so stop being an asshole." Sam growled.

Puck shook his head. "You're right. Sorry Blondie, guess I'm not used to this." Puck motioned toward Sam and Brittany at the head of the group.

"It's cool. Just maybe next time wait till you see me play before you judge."

"BURN." Santana stated which earned her a glare from Puck.

Sam and Brittany tried to split up the teams as evenly as they could when they picked. Mike went on Brittany's team while Puck went on Sam's. Brittany was delighted when she got to have Santana but also a little disappointed when Quinn was sent to the other team to balance it out. Quinn looked like she had serious game. She was decked out in proper gear that Sam leant her. It was pretty big on her but still, she looked pro. Finn went to Sam's team while Blaine came to Brittany's. Rachel was sent to Sam's team because Santana refused to play on the same team and so Sugar was part of Brittany's team. It was decided that Artie would play umpire and Kurt would play water boy. Tina begged to be on the same team as Mike and Mercedes's gladly joined Sam's team and instantly cowered behind the bigger guys.

In the end, the team card looked like this.

BRITTANY:

Santana, Mike , Blaine, Sugar, Tina

SAM:

Quinn, Puck, Finn, Mercedes's, Rachel

Artie – umpire

Kurt – H2o expert and transporter.

A coin was tossed and it was decided that Sam's team would bat first.

"Batter up!" Artie hollered.

Mike moved up to the pitching mound and flexed his arm muscled and spun his arms in circles a couple of time. Brittany was pretty sure she heard Tina sigh in the outfield. Santana was the catcher and she squatted with her mitt open facing Mike.

Brittany was first base and shaking out her arms too. Sam stepped up to the plate and swung his bat back and forth a few times. Santana held up three fingers in Sam's blind spot. Mike nodded and pulled his cap down. He pulled his arm back and shot one low and straight down the middle. It was an excellent pitch but Sam was an excellent batsman and Brittany saw the ball flying towards the sky before the crack even registered. The ball went far afield, and Sam easily made a home run before the ball was back to home plate.

Quinn hit a cracker and made it to second, no thanks to Tina who lay flat on the ground when the ball cam her way. Finn with his big limbs and presumably small brain struck out before Puck swung hard and managed to connect, sending the ball rolling straight to Blaine who scooped it up and flew it to first base just milliseconds after Puck connected with the plate.

"Safe!" Artie called and Brittany grumbled.

Rachel shakily took the bat from Sam and made her way up to the batting plate. Brittany could see Santana trash talking and it made her grin. Rachel looked behind her at something Santana had said, Mike threw the ball over the plate to Santana and there was strike one. Santana threw the ball back and pointed at Rachel's shoe, telling her the laces were untied. Rachel glanced down and again the ball came wizzing over the plate. Strike two.

Rachel was visibly seething at the fact that Santana had tricked her. Rachel focused hard for the last ball, you could to the determination in her face.

"That's not Patti Lupone is it?" Santana asked pointing towards people walking in the park.

Rachel dropped her bat and started running as if controlled towards the walking people. Santana laughed and grinned when Mike threw the ball for strike three.

"Rachel, are you kidding me?" Puck shouted.

"Why?" Quinn hung her head.

"Oh my God. So gullible." Mercedes groaned.

"Hey where's Kurt?" Artie asked.

Santana spun around to find Kurt had run off in the same direction as Rachel. Everyone laughed and Finn ran off to call them back.

After Rachel and Kurt had some back and glared at Santana, the game resumed. The batting changed over and Brittany, being team captain, was up first.

Sam rocked up to pitch and Brittany squared her shoulders, flexing her arm muscles and adapting her grip. Sam nodded towards Finn who was catcher and pulled his cap low before firing the ball towards Brittany. It was straight and unwavering but dead fast. Brittany sung through and felt the bat vibrating after it connected with the ball. It made a sharp crack and the ball went flying.

Brittany grinned and watched as the ball flew all the way over the far fence for a home run.

"I am so turned on right now." Puck said with an open mouth.

Brittany's team shouted for her and Sam gave her a high five as she rounded the bases. Santana even slapped her ass when she made it back home.

The inning went on and it was great fun for everyone. Even Rachel and Kurt who were both still recovering from their false alarm Patti sighting. Brittany noticed that Santana was pretty good at baseball. She was quick. Easily the quickest girl and she would steal bases before anyone had a clue. But she was strong too. Her boxing training gave her great core strength so she could smack the ball a fair way. Quinn was more strategic, angling the ball in unmarked pockets and organizing her teams batting order according to pitchers and fielders. But doing this she saved her team a couple times when they had full bases.

They played three innings before everyone started getting a little too hot and hungry. On their way home Brittany walked in between Santana and Sam at the back of the group, talking about what a massive success the game was. Sam jogged ahead to chat with Quinn and Santana and Brittany moved closer so their hands kept brushing.

"You're really good." Santana smiled.

"You too."

"It was pretty hot watching you play." Santana purred, slapping Brittany's ass again. It was okay because they were at the back of the group. Brittany yelped and did the same back to Santana with a devilish smile.

"What are we doing tonight?" Brittany asked.

"You'll have to wait and see."

"What do I need to wear?"

"Oh just whatever but bring a jacket in case it rains or gets cold."

Brittany nodded and bumped shoulders with Santana.

"You were pretty hot out there today too." Brittany grinned shyly. "Guess I have a thing for girls in baseball caps."

Santana placed her hand and lightly on Brittany's lower back and glanced over Brittany. Her original style chuck Taylors were dusty and her jean shorts frayed and worn looking. Her tight fitting long sleeved white shirt showed off her perfect figure and her hair was pulled back into a perfectly messy pony tail with rouge strands hanging around her face.

"I think I just have a thing for you." Santana winked and hooked their arms together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Britt, let's go." Santana sing songed and ran down the stairs. Brittany chased after her laughing.

"Where are you too going?" Quinn asked from the couch.

"Santana won't tell me." Brittany whined

"And I'm not gunna. It's a surprise. I'll text you when we get where we're going, Mama Quinn." Santana said mischievously.

Quinn huffed and returned to her book. "Be back before curfew, don't get into trouble and use protection!" Quinn said in an old person's voice causing Santana and Brittany to laugh.

"Bye Quinny." Brittany grinned.

"Bye little Brittany. " Quinn said with a wink. Ever since Quinn found out that Brittany was six months younger than her, she had taken to calling Brittany 'Little Brittany.' Brittany didn't mind. In fact she kind of loved it. It was like having an older sister.

Santana and Brittany raced childishly all the way out to the car, wrestling each other to get through doorways and elevators first. When they got to the car puffing and panting Santana pulled the door open for Britt who grinned and hoping into Santana's beefy Land Rover.

"Ready?" Santana asked.

"Ready."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Santana luckily found a park only a few blocks away from the stadium and soon she and Brittany were moving with the flow of people in the general direction of the Yankee's stadium.

"Are we...are we going to a real baseball game?" Brittany asked, trying to contain the excitement in her voice.

Santana looked over and nodded. Before she could even register, she was being pulled into a tight embrace.

"Oh San…you have no idea..." Brittany shook her head in amazement.

"I've never been." Brittany said astounded.

"I know, Sam told me." Santana smiled.

Brittany looked at Santana with a beaming smile and shook her head. "Thank you."

Santana nodded and handed their tickets over to a man in a bright yellow jacket at the gate entrance to the Stadium. He clicked and ripped them and waved them on and then they were through to the threshold, bodies moving all around them. Santana looked down their seat numbers and at the signs overhead, figuring out their location. Santana looked back and Brittany who looked a little overwhelmed at the amount of people in the space around them. Santana had experienced being in big stadiums before but maybe Brittany hadn't.

Santana hooked her pinkie in Brittany's and pulled her closed. "Follow me and don't let go."

Brittany nodded and traced Santana's footsteps in front of her. Brittany followed Santana down some stairs and weaved through what felt like hundreds of people. Finally they were at their seats and once sitting down Brittany managed to take in her surroundings for the first time.

Brittany's jaw dropped. The place was huge. There must have been at least three tears each with thousands and thousands of blue seats. The whole thing was shaped kind of like a really, really badly done triangle and they were sitting in the most prominent point, behind the catcher.

Brittany turned to Santana and realised they still had their pinkies joined. Smiling, Brittany looked around her again.

"Pretty big, huh?" Santana asked

Brittany just nodded and continued looking. "It's amazing."

Because it was night time, massive flood lights drenched the entire stadium in light. Even the size of the lights had Brittany's mind reeling.

"Don't think too hard." Santana chuckled.

"How did you know I was thinking?"

"You do this thing where you stick your tongue out." Santana demonstrated and Brittany playfully pushed her.

"I don't!"

"You do!"

"Well, did you know that whenever you're waiting for the water to boil or your toast to pop, you puff your cheeks in and out like this." Brittany demonstrated and Santana gasped.

"I don't…" she sounded unsure of herself.

"You totally do." Brittany laughed. "But it's okay cause it's super cute."

Santana raised an eyebrow.

"Did you know that when you're angry you clench your jaw?" Santana said softy.

Brittany nodded and slightly chuckled. "Yeah my mom used to tell me off for it 'cause it wasn't lady like." Brittany air quoted the last bit. "But did _you _know that when you're angry you flare your nostrils."

Santana laughed. "My brother used to tell me I looked like a monkey when I did it."

Brittany could see Santana's eyes dim slightly at the mention of her brother so Brittany decided to do the best thing she could think of to make sure Santana stayed happy.

Brittany pulled her ears out, puffed up her cheeks, flared her nostrils and crossed her eyes in the best impersonation of a monkey she could manage.

Santana laughed heartily and pulled Brittany into a hug. "So much cuter that a monkey." She whispered into Brittany's ear.

Brittany smiled sheepishly and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. "So who's playing?"

"Yankee's and Tigers."

"Who do you support?"

"Neither. But it doesn't matter, it's the atmosphere I love." Santana smiled and gestured around her.

"Care to make bet then?"

"I would love to. What are we betting for exactly?"

"I call Yankee's so if they win you have to wash my car." Brittany grinned. "In a bikini."

"You perv!" Santana giggled. "Fine. You have to do the same for me if the Tigers win."

"We're equally as pervy." Brittany said and they both nod in agreement.

"Deal." They shook on it and grinned at each other.

The game started up and Brittany and Santana settled into steady conversation while watching it. A vendor boy came round and Santana flagged him down, buying a hotdog and doughnuts for her and Brittany. Brittany thanked her and got a fright when she turned around and the guy was still looming over her. He was admittedly good looking, but way too cocky for anyone's good.

"Hey." He grinned at Brittany. "You come here often?"

Santana scoffed at his lame attempt at hitting on Brittany. She was miles out of his league.

"Nope, first time." Brittany said politely.

"Cool. Like it so far?"

Santana literally had to bite her tongue from saying anything. She didn't want to make a scene, not in front of Brittany.

Brittany nodded at the question, unsure of where this was going.

The guy flexed his muscles not so subtly and leaned closed to Brittany. "I'm Chad."

Santana laughed out loud. Brittany and _Chad_ looked over at her.

"Chad? What an unfortunate name." Santana mused.

The guy looked taken back but it didn't deter him.

"Anyway…can I have your number…?" He looked questioningly at Brittany.

Santana answered for her. "It's Brittany but no, sorry, _Chad._ She's not that into guys that sell hotdogs for a living.

Brittany looked at Santana with a raised eyebrow. Chad sneered at Santana.

"The prettiest ones really are the bitchiest." She heard him mumble. "Except for you, Brittany." He grinned.

Well, the little fucker was persistent.

"Actually, I'm kind of crushing on someone right now and I really don't have eyes for anyone else." Brittany stated.

The guy shrugged. "It's cool. Hope that works out for you. Bye Brittany," He smiled at the blonde before looking at Santana. "Cock block."

Santana pulled the fingers at his retreating back before looking at a very amused Brittany.

"Chad?" Santana asked again. "Really?"

"Someone's jealous." Brittany grinned.

"Yes, that would be Chad. Jealous of the awesome genetics yours truly has received." Santana pointed to her face with a smirk. "And of course jealous that _I'm_ the one sitting next to you."

"You were so jelly, San!"

"NO!"

"Ah-huh."

Santana sighed and mumbled 'no' again but Brittany only smiled triumphantly in response.

"Did you mean that?" Santana asked hopefully.

"What?"

"That you're 'kind of crushing on someone right now' and you 'really don't have eyes for anyone else'?"

"Of course I did."

Santana grinned and Brittany carried on.

"Yeah, Puck's totally a hottie with that epic man do." Brittany said and gazed into space as if picturing Puck himself.

"Haha very funny, Pierce." Santana tilted her head to the side and grinned. "But seriously.."

"Seriously, I'm kinda, sorta, maybe just a little…crushing on you, _Lopez." _Brittany grinned a lopsided goofy grin and Santana felt her heart leap.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Santana squeezed past Brittany who rightfully smacked her ass. Santana shrieked and bolted up the stairs towards the food stands and merchandise stalls. Brittany couldn't wipe the grin from her face, she was just too happy. Brittany watched the game intently for a few minutes, completely engrossed in the batting technique of the major league players, loving the way the crowd roared when a guy hit the ball or was caught out.

Santana bustled past Brittany and sat in her seat. It wasn't hard for Brittany to tear her eyes away from the game. A game that Brittany's team was winning.

Santana dug her hand around a newly acquired bag and brought out a blue Yankee's cap with the white Yankee's symbol set proudly on top. She put it on Brittany's head, taking a moment to soak in just how adorable Brittany was.

"What do you know…I think I have athink for _a_ girl wearing a baseball cap." Santana grins and winks before turning back to the game. Brittany is left speechless.

Brittany reached out to touch Santana's arm. "San…I.." Brittany doesn't even know what to say. She reaches up to touch the cap, the cap that is now undoubtedly one of her most prized possessions.

Santana just smiles at Brittany and it's so filled with warmth and promise.

"You just won."

Brittany looks around at the jumping Yankee's fans all around her, the Yankee's players on the field hugging it out after a close call win.

Brittany touches the cap and again. "Yeah, I did."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A LOT of baseball in this chapter but you know what that's okay because bonding time is always in order. **

**So a few mysteries in this bad boy hopefully they will be solved. I personally want to know how Santana really got that scar…oh wait I'm the author, I do know! Fantastic. But you guys will just have to keep reading…suckaaaa's :) AND was that a date or what? Hmmm…**

**And I'm sorry to all you pervs out there that totally wanted sexy times but I really don't think they are ready for that yet. They gots ta get to know each other a little better before they be doin' the nasty. If you guys disagree, that's cool too. But I PROMISE it won't be too long. Not with Santana being all sweet like that.**


	12. Spiderman kiss

**The song that Santana washes the car to is Wild Ones by Flo Rider and Sia. I recommend you listen to it while you read, for the full effect. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12: Spiderman kiss

"Hi Brittany, good to see you." Emma smiled at the blonde. "Did you make it here okay?"

Brittany nodded and smiled. The studio, her new work place was about a thirty minute jog or fifteen minute drive and considering the traffic. Brittany had parked in the car lot and instantly liked the look of the place. It was modern looking with big glass panes and looked almost new. Inside was even better kept than the outside and the spaces and rooms were perfect.

"This is our main studio and this is where you'll do your classes. Today I'm taking an advanced ballet class and I'd like you to sit and observe. It'll help you get a feel for the way we do things here."

"That would be great. I'm kind of nervous for my first lesson."

"Don't be nervous just be yourself, share your knowledge. The kids will love you." Emma said reassuringly. "I said you would take a jazz class right?"

Brittany nodded, remembering Emma's comment.

"I think I'd like to change that to ballet. There's a class straight after mine if you would like to lead it?"

"Okay." Brittany grinned. "How old are the kids in that class?"

"Young. Most around five I think. They're adorable in their little leotards." Emma giggled.

Some people started filing into the studio and Brittany made her way to the back to sit down and watch. The students looked around her age, a few a little bit older. They did their own stretches and Emma took them through a warm up.

Brittany was in awe for most of the lesson. She couldn't take her eyes off Emma. She was so graceful and composed. Such an incredible dancer. Brittany's respect for her grew tenfold.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany stood in front of twelve little girls and one boy at the start of the lesson. God they were cute. All decked out in their dancing gear, hair pulled back and tidy, filled with fresh hope and excitement.

"Who are you?" one brave little brunette asked Brittany.

"My name's Brittany. I'm your new teacher. I'll try and learn all of _your_ names by the end of the lesson."

"You're pretty." Another little girl stated.

Brittany grinned. "Not as pretty as all you lovely ladies and handsome young man."

"Tony's not handsome!" a little blonde girl said, exasperated.

"Yeah, he smells like boy. Yuck!" another one chirped.

Brittany watched Tony's face go bright red as the other girls taunted him.

"Hey, that's not nice." Brittany scolded. "In this class, there will be no name calling and no bullying. Understood?"

Brittany watched as thirteen heads bobbed up and down obediently.

"Sorry, Tony." A couple of girls whispered.

Brittany smiled. "Right then, who's ready for some dancing?"

The kids cheered and Brittany began to take them through a warm up.

By the end of the lesson Brittany had learnt all of their names and put them in categories in her mind. There were about ten of them that were still in the very early cognitive stage of learning dance. They hadn't quite grasped the concept of ballet or correct posture which was understanding considering they were only five and six. There were two girls that had a lot of natural talent. They naturally had correct posture and an ability to balance that most would spend months, even years trying to perfect. Brittany was pleased to find that these two girls hadn't been the ones that had made fun of little Tony and even more pleased that they seemed to be very placid and calm, unlike some of the others. Tony was very impressive. He was little but already had prominent muscle definition. Brittany wondered if his parents trained him at home too. They must have.

Brittany wrapped up the lesson and the chorus of thanks and goodbye's that floated through the room with the exiting youngsters was very satisfying for Brittany. Tony was the last to leave, his mom waiting by the door. He nervously walked up behind Brittany and tapped her on the wrist. Brittany spun round and was met with big brown eyes, lighter brown hair and the soft tanned complexion that Tony had been blessed with. Brittany briefly thought that he must have been the cutest kid she had ever seen.

"How can I help you, little man?" Brittany asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for telling those girls not to be mean." Tony said quietly, looking at the ground.

"It won't happen again. I don't like bullies."

"I don't either!" Tony said, looking up. "Have you gotten bullied?"

"Yeah, I have." Brittany sighed. "It's not very nice is it?"

"No." Tony said with wide eyes.

"Tony, we have to go sweetie." Tony's mom called from the door.

Brittany looked up and smiled at Tony's mom. "You gotta go, little man but I'll see you next week alright? Keep practicing. You did very well today."

"Thanks." Tony grinned shyly before turning and bolting toward the door. "Bye!"

"Bye, Tony."

Brittany grinned at the now empty door. She was going to like this job.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, how was your first class?" Quinn asked as Brittany stepped through the door.

"It was so great. Emma gave me the ballet youngsters and they were so cute!"

"Who's your favourite?" Santana asked, coming down the stairs.

"I'm not supposed to have favourites…" Brittany pursed her lips.

"Oh come on, you can tell us." Quinn prompted.

"Yeah, which of the little brats have got you wrapped around their little finger?" Santana asked with a raised eyebrow.

Brittany sighed, giving in. "My favourite it a little boy Tony. But he does _not_ have me wrapped around his little finger. "

Santana smirked at Quinn. "And none of them are brats." Brittany quickly added.

"Why is this Tony your favourite?" Quinn asked.

"For one, he's the best dancer. He's got truck-loads of natural ability. Secondly, he's cute as a button and very polite. Thirdly, he's not the most confident little dude and I don't know, he's just sort of…vulnerable. If feel like I should look after him."

"What does he look like?"

"He's got soft brown hair and darker brown eyes that catch the light so they always look like they're twinkling. I guess I'm a sucker for brown eyes." Brittany said thoughtfully, not daring a look at Santana whose mouth was hanging slightly agape.

"Yeah, he doesn't have you wrapped around his little finger. Right…." Quinn teased.

"You just wait till you see him, Fabray. Your heart will melt." Brittany smiled.

"Impossible. This one's got a heart of stone." Santana said, jerking her thumb towards Quinn.

"Do not!" Quinn argued before looking at her watch. "Crap, I gotta go to work. I'll be home later."

Quinn bustled out the door leaving Brittany and Santana alone.

"Where's everyone else?" Brittany asked softly.

"Work or gone." Santana shrugged.

"Right then, I believe we had a deal."

"What deal?" Santana asked innocently.

"Our baseball bet. You owe me a car wash," Brittany grinned and leaned forward. "In a bikini."

Brittany swore she saw Santana shudder but she was off up the stairs before she could tell for sure.

Brittany waited down stairs, collecting buckets and washing liquid, all while a massive grin was plastered to her face. Santana appeared at the foot of the stairs wearing denim overalls that clearly showed her white bikini underneath.

"Woah." Brittany complimented.

"Thanks." Santana grinned.

They made their way out to the car lot, Brittany barely managing to keep her hands in check but letting her eyes linger. It was a warm day and the car lot was stuffy, rays of sunlight streaming in from all sides. Brittany was glad for this; she didn't want Santana getting cold.

Together they found a tap and even a hose and parked the car closer to the water source, and in direct sunlight. Brittany grinned and set up her fold out chair in front of her car.

"You're kidding." Santana said, noticing the chair. Brittany shrugged and relaxed back.

"Oh," Brittany said, sitting forward again. "What if someone comes and sees us?"

"It's fine. I'm washing your car in clothes that are made to get wet. It's all innocent." Santana grinned, knowing it was quite the opposite.

"Perfect." Brittany said, leaning back, crossing her ankles and propping her hands behind her head.

Santana rolled her eyes and leaned into the car to turn on some music before grabbing a bucket of warm water and wetting her sponge.

_Hey I heard you were a wild one, Oooh, If I took you home, It'd be a home run. Show me how you'll do._

Santana held the sponge up, squeezing it tight so the soapy water dripped down onto the hood.

_I wanna shut down the club, with you. Hey I heard you like the wild ones, wild ones, wild ones, Oooh._

Santana lent forward and began making large circles with her sodden sponge, lathering the hood in white suds.

_I like crazy, foolish, stupid, Party going wild, fist pumping, Music, I might lose it, Blast to the roof, that's how we do'z it. I don't care the night, she don't care we like, Almost dared the right five. Ready to get popping, ain't no surprise. Take me so high, jumping no doubts, Surfing the crowd.___

Santana bobbed her head with the beat, her loose wavy, raven hair swinging freely around her face.

_Oooh, Said I gotta be the man, when they heading my van, might check one too. Shut them down in the club while the playboy does it, and y'all get lose lose, after bottle, we all get bit and again tomorrow. Gotta break loose cause that's the motto. Club shuts down, I heard you're super models._

Santana swayed her hips and unclipped her overalls at the shoulder, letting them slide down to bunch at her waist. Then she leaned her body fully on the hood of Brittany's car, effectively wetting her entire front.

_Hey I heard you were a wild one, Oooh. If I took you home It'd be a home run. Show me how you'll do._

Santana sang along with Sia this time as she continued to scrub the sleek black metal of Brittany's car. Brittany sat forward in her seat and watched. Santana looked amazing in a white bikini that contrasted with her skin tone incredibly. And she knew it.

_I want shut down the club, With I heard you like the wild ones, Oooh._

Santana turned towards Brittany, giving her a full view of her flawless stomach and chest. White bubbles mixed with water ran down the Latina's toned abdominals and disappeared underneath the overalls that were still bunched at Santana's waist.

Santana caught Brittany staring and arched an eyebrow. Brittany leaned back in her chair as though to look not so eager.

Flo rider rapped another verse and Santana continued to work on the car. Bending, stretching and flexing where ever possible to clean all the right spots and give Brittany a view to remember. Brittany missed the first half of the verse because she was too entranced at the way Santana's body moved, but managed to pick up the second half, softly rapping along.

_All black shades when the sun come through, Oh, it's on like everything goes. Round up baby til the freaky show. What happens to that body, it's a private show. Stays right here, private show. _Santana winked at Brittany after that.

_I like em untamed, don't tell me how pain. Tell them this, bottoms up with the champagne. My life, coming harder than we hit play. Do you busy with the bail, were you insane. _

Santana continued to wipe the car, letting the water from the sponge run down her arm to her elbow and trickle over her exposed body.

_Hey I heard you were a wild one, Oooh. If I took you home It'd be a home run. Show me how you'll do. I want shut down the club, With I heard you like the wild ones, Oooh._

Santana sang again and Brittany felt like she was part of a music video. Santana's pitch perfect, enticing voice settled over Brittany and as if by magnetic force, Brittany found herself leaning forward in the seat again, gripping the side of the flimsy chair.

Santana looked over at Brittany and slowly began to remove her overalls completely. Brittany had never seen anything so mesmerising. Soapy water ran in torrents over caramel skin and dripped to the warm concrete as Santana leaned over to push the denim off her body. When she stood up, Brittany gripped the chair tighter still. Santana's white bikini clung to her body and her dark hair was pushed over one shoulder. Her beautiful smooth limbs dripped with water and the smirk on her face had Brittany's heart in her throat.

_I am a wild one, break me in. Saddle me up and lets begin. I am a wild one, tame me now, running with wolves and I'm on the prowl. _

Santana walked towards Brittany and stopped right in front of her chair. Santana's wet stomach only inches from Brittany's face. Brittany stopped breathing as she looked up. Dark eyes stared back at her and Brittany gulped and Santana's smirk intensified. She placed one leg on either side of Brittany and Brittany felt drops of water fall to her skin. Santana lowered her body and just when Brittany felt for sure Santana was about to kiss her, she plucked the Yankee's baseball cap from the blondes head and put it on her own, leaving Brittany to go back to washing the car.

"Tease." Brittany muttered.

_Show you another side of me. _

Brittany took in Santana in her cap with only a bikini. It was hard to describe the amount of arousal coursing through her.

_A side you would never thought you would see_

Brittany felt her legs moving but didn't really register what she was doing until she was standing behind Santana.

_Tell that body, Gotta make sure do you have enough._

Brittany scanned the parking lot before turning Santana to face her.

_I can't lie, the wilds don't lie._

Brittany pushed Santana up against her car and spun the cap on Santana's head so it was facing sideways. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are?" Brittany grunted, pushing herself into Santana.

Santana's eyes went wide and grew darker. "So you liked the show?"

Brittany moved her face so close to Santana's that she felt it when Santana's eyes shuttered closed.

"I did." Brittany mumbled, her lips grazing Santana's as she did so.

"I'm glad." Santana murmured back.

Brittany pushed forward an inch and kissed Santana softly, letting her hands roam Santana's sides.

Santana pulled back slightly and looked around the lot. There was no body there but it was still a very public place.

"I think you need to cool off." Santana smirked.

"Me too." Brittany said breathlessly.

Santana raced around the car and picked up the hose, aiming at Brittany and squirting. Brittany squealed, surprised by the sudden drenching.

"I didn't mean like that!" Brittany whined.

"Sorry." Santana pouted, not sorry as all.

"You wana play this game?" Brittany asked in what she could only hope was an intimidating tone.

Santana answered her by letting another spray of water soak the blonde.

Brittany stripped her sodden top off, leaving her in only a sports bra and shorts. She used the two seconds Santana spent ogling to get around the car and steal the hose from Santana, spraying her front. Santana ran for a bucket and threw what water was left at Brittany's head, followed by the bucket.

"What is this?" Brittany cried, dodging the flying red plastic.

"Sorry!" Santana called, again, not at all sorry.

Brittany sprinted forward and scooped Santana up, throwing her over her shoulder.

"No! Wait!" Santana screamed but Brittany showed no mercy, dumping her in the discarded fold out chair. Brittany loomed above Santana, liking the new angle of the bikini very much. Brittany leaned behind her and grabbed the sponge Santana had been using on the car. Holding it above Santana's stomach, she wrung it out with her hands and watched as a long trail of fluffy white liquid poured onto Santana's chest, made its way through the valley of her breasts, down to her stomach, some daring drips sliding their way down Santana's stomach and sliding under the waist band of her bikini bottoms.

Brittany could feel her eyes growing larger and darker with lust. She could feel her pulse all over her body, her senses and touch heightened with arousal. Santana noticed too, she herself was finding it increasingly difficult to fight off how turned on she was. Especially when Brittany was looking at her like _that._

"Wow." Brittany said, eyes roaming over Santana's wet body.

"Britt, we're not ready for…_that_."

"No, I know. Sorry it's just…you look so good in that bikini." Brittany muttered looking embarrassed, sliding off Santana.

Santana stood to join Brittany. "Don't you think I'm feeling exactly what you are right now?"

"You are?"

"Oh yeah." Santana chucked. "We just need to calm down and cool off a bit, properly."

Brittany nodded and locked up her car, hosing of any excess suds.

"Come on." Santana said making her way inside to the elevator, pulling on her overalls.

Brittany trudged to the elevator. Once inside Santana slipped her hand into hers and placed the baseball cap back onto Brittany's head. Then rested her head on the blondes shoulder.

"You suit it you know. The cap." Brittany said.

"Not as much as you." Santana tilted her head and kissed Brittany's neck.

Once inside the apartment, and after shoving the buckets and soap back in the washer room, Santana and Brittany raced upstairs, deciding to go into Santana's room.

"Lay down and I'll be right back." Santana said and Brittany did so, her bra and shorts only slightly damp now. Brittany realized that she was still majorly turned on and wriggled uncomfortably.

Santana returned only a minute later with a large glass filled with ice. "Lie back." Santana instructed.

"Close your eyes." Santana said softly. Brittany shut her eyes and waited patiently. After a few seconds, Brittany felt a cool, steady rush of cold air inside her wrist. She slipped her eyes open to see Santana leaning over her, blowing her breath onto Brittany's sensitive skin.

"Eyes closed." Santana said with a small smile, still focusing on Brittany's wrist.

Brittany quickly shut her eyes and instantly felt the smooth, crisp rush of air start up again. This time it travelled up Brittany's forearm and upper arm, stopping at her shoulder. It paused for a second before switching to the other shoulder. Brittany relished the feeling of the single strip of air running down her arm. Once Santana reached the other arm, she moved to Brittany's stomach, blowing over Brittany's belly button and moving in a straight line up to her collar bone.

Santana went down to Brittany's ankle, took a deep breath and sent cool air over her ankle bone, over her shin, across her knee and to the inside of Brittany's upper thigh.

Brittany made a small whimpering sound. "Not helping."

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." Santana giggled. Santana did the same with the next leg, stopping at Brittany's knee this time.

"Sit Up." Santana commanded. "Open your eyes."

Brittany opened her eyes and met brown instantly.

"Turn around."

Brittany did so, not saying a word.

"Arms up."

Brittany held up her arms and as soon as she did, felt Santana's hands at the top of her rib cage.

"I'm going to take this off, okay?" Santana said, tugging lightly on Brittany's black Nike bra.

Brittany just nodded. Santana slipped the ends of her fingers under the black material and pulled up, revealing Brittany's bare back.

"Oh."

"What is it?" Brittany asked self-consciously.

"I never noticed before but You…you have little back dimples."

"Is that a problem?" Brittany asked, not sure what to make of Santana's comment.

"No!" Santana basically shouted. "I mean, wow, it's just…you keep surprising me."

Brittany grinned even though she knew Santana couldn't see her.

"I really like your back." Santana whispered and Brittany couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope you'll like my front too."

"I'm sure I will, when you're ready to show me. Now lie down."

Brittany lay down on her front and grabbed a pillow to prop her head up on. It smelt like Santana.

Brittany felt Santana straddle her back and natural got excited. She heard some clinking and then felt a cold, wet object slide across her shoulder. Brittany hissed and Santana chucked.

"Relax bab- ah B-Britt. Relax Britt."

Brittany listened to Santana try to correct herself, stuttering and stumbling over her words. Then she heard what sounded like a palm connecting with a forehead.

Brittany decided it was best to ignore the comment, for Santana's sake.

Santana moved the ice cube around Brittany's back, making patterns and doing invisible drawings.

"This will cool you down…hopefully." Santana chuckled.

"It's working." Brittany hummed as the cool ice slipped over her back.

"How about we play that little game of yours?"

"Mmhmm." Brittany turned her head to the side so she could head better. "You start."

Santana moved the melting ice in circles across Brittany's back. "Something no one else in the world knows about you."

"I keep all the pennies that I find in a jar, for good luck. You?"

"Cute. When I was seventeen, every Sunday afternoon I told my parents I was doing cheer practice but I was actually sitting at the top of Lima Heights hill."

"What would you do?"

"Sing, write, cry sometimes."

"What did you write?"

"Letters, sometimes songs."

"Letters to who?"

"Everybody. I wrote one to my parents, Brother, friends, every single firkin member of glee club, even Mr Shue." Santana chuckled. "But I never sent them. Apart from one."

"What did they say?" Brittany asked, sucking in when a fresh piece of ice connected with her skin.

"They said everything I was too afraid to." Brittany felt Santana's weight shift and figured she was shrugging.

"And the one letter you did send…was that to your brother?"

"You're smart, B" Santana chuckled again. "Biggest fear?" Santana changed the subject so Brittany followed suit.

"Being in a situation where I have to try and save someone's life…and failing to. You?"

"Wow, Britt." Santana shook her head and kissed Brittany's shoulder. "I guess I don't really have a fear that can compare to that."

"San, come on. Tell me, please."

Santana sighed. "Being completely alone."

Brittany nodded and squeezed the hand that had made its way to her shoulder. "That's not going to happen."

"Thing that make you most turned on?" Brittany asked, lightening the mood.

"Neck kisses. You?"

"Duly noted. You in a bikini." Brittany grinned.

"Cheeky." Santana softly slapped Brittany's shoulder.

"It's true!"

Santana laughed. "Okay, okay. Best turn off?"

"Beer gut and BO smell. Ugh."

"Well I am never, ever going to get a beer gut and will try to smell good always."

"You smell awesome. All the time."

"You do too. I love your smell. It's like, all fruity and sometimes you smell like bubble gum." Santana grinned and began massaging Brittany's back.

"That feels good." Brittany muttered. "Feature you like best on a face?"

"Mmm, smile. Yeah, smile."

"Me too."

"Body?"

"We talking guys or girls here?" Brittany smirked.

"Either." Santana answered softly.

"Okay then." Brittany reached out to grab one of Santana's T-shirts and twisted underneath the Latina to face her, draping the shirt over her chest. "These lines, right here…" Brittany brought her hands up to Santana's hip bones and used her thumbs to trace down the two muscle lines leading down and disappearing beneath Santana's bikini bottoms. Brittany stopped her thumbs at the top of the white material and grinned up at Santana whose bottom lip was caught between her teeth. "are my favourite part of the human anatomy."

"Y-yeah?"

Brittany nodded. "What about you?"

Santana leaned down and gently pulled the top that was covering Brittany's chest higher. She stopped just under Brittany's left breast and used her thumb to run along Brittany's rib there.

"I like just here."

Brittany shuddered at Santana's delicate touch.

"But not as much as I love back dimples."

Brittany sucked in a breath and gazed at Santana in wonder.

Santana sat back and gestured for Brittany to lay her head in her lap. Santana started playing with Brittany's hair.

"Kindest thing you've ever done for someone?" Brittany asked with eyes closed.

"I'm not a kind person." Santana shrugged. "But I guess giving the solo to Broadway Berry senior year of nationals was pretty damn kind." She spat.

"You are kind, San." Brittany said softly.

"You?" Santana asked.

"Probably giving the only homeless man In Lima all my savings when I was eight. It was only thirty two dollars but-"

Brittany was cut off my Santana sweet lips. It was different because it was like they were kissing the wrong way round. Like the kiss in Spiderman where spidy is hanging upside down and the chick pulls his mask down over his lips so she can kiss him senseless. Yeah, like that.

Santana's lips caught Brittany's bottom one and caressed it gently. The nerve endings in Brittany's lip were tingling like crazy and sending shots of heat through her body. Santana had her hands either side of Brittany's face and was making small circles on her cheek bones. Santana sucked on Brittany's lip and a small whimper escaped Brittany's throat. Santana pulled away and continued to play with Brittany's hair.

"Holy shit." Brittany squeaked, touching her lips and looking up at Santana. Even upside down, she was so beautiful.

"You're so sweet, Britt-Britt. Giving away what little you to someone who had nothing." Santana smiled. "But yeah, holy shit's right." Santana touched her own lips now and started to lean back down.

"Hello! I'm home, can someone help me with Sugar's bags?" Mercedes's voice rang out through the apartment.

Santana and Brittany scrambled off the bed, trying to find clothes. Santana chucked Brittany her sports bra and Brittany turned around to pull it on. It felt kind of stupid doing it considering the extremely intimate moment they had just shared. Santana chucked some clothes on over top of her bikini and Brittany darted to her room to find a shirt.

They met again in the hallway on their way downstairs, took one look at each other's frazzled appearance and burst out laughing. They took a minute to fix each other's hair and clothes and once satisfied, turned to go down the stairs. Before they were in sight of the others, Brittany pulled Santana back and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks for cooling me down." Brittany whispered. "But I have to say, you warmed me right back up at the end there."

Brittany turned and bounded down the stairs to Mercedes's and Sugar leaving Santana to stumble in her wake.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany slammed the door to the apartment and angrily threw her bag down on the kitchen counter top. She didn't usually get angry but today, she just couldn't handle it. She let Sue get to her. She was so angry with herself for letting her cruel word affect her.

"What's wrong, Britt?"

Brittany whipped around to see Santana at the doorway. Brittany remained stoic for a moment before bursting out into tears.

"Brittany, " Santana cooed and took the bawling blonde into her arms. "What happened?"

Brittany coughed and tried to compose herself. "Sue..she just…San, she called us sloppy babies!" Brittany blubbered. "San, I don't even know what a sloppy baby is. Is it a baby that's a messy eater? I just-can't-I don't…"

"Hey, it's okay." Santana rubbed Brittany's back soothingly like her mom used to do for her. "Screw Sue."

Brittany looked up and Santana smiled, wiping away some tears with her thumb.

"The only thing is…you didn't let the old bat see you cry, did you?" Santana asked.

"Of course not."

"That's my girl." Santana nodded. Brittany felt her heart swell at the fact Santana had just called her 'my girl.'

"Good. Don't you ever let her see you cry. If you think you're gonna cry, you come home to _me_ and let it all out, okay. I know people like her. She feeds of weakness. Don't show her any weakness."

Brittany nodded and Santana pulled her in for a bear hug, completely wrapping up the blonde.

"How do you feel?"

Brittany sniffled. "Angry."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. What gives her the right to bully me? I can't even do anything about it because she's my teacher." Brittany said and Santana's grip tightened.

"I've got an idea."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"San, I'm not sure this is the best idea." Brittany said. "I don't want to hurt you…"

Santana scoffed and pushed the big red couch further back.

"What makes you think _I_ won't hurt _you_?"

"You're littler than me." Brittany shrugged.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight In the dog." Santana stated

"Wait, so we're having a dog fight now? San, I think those are illegal, even in Mexico."

"What? No, Britt. We are wrestling. But don't underestimate me 'cause I'm little. The bigger you are the harder you fall."

"Someone should warn Finn about that."

Santana laughed at Brittany's offhand comment and moved the coffee table. She had pushed back all the couches in the living room so there was a nice wide open space. She had then made a large circle ring in the space with all of the pillows from the couches and around the house.

"Why are we doing this?" Brittany asked

"So you can let off some steam. So everything inside you, all that anger doesn't build up and burst out at the wrong time. It's called venting, trust me, I'm a master at it." Santana closed her eyes and shook her head. Brittany thought maybe she wasn't supposed to say the last bit.

"Rules?" Brittany asked.

"You either have to push the person out of bounds," Santana gestured towards the pillow ring. "Or pin them so both shoulders are touching the mat, or obviously, if someone taps out." Santana looked at Brittany with a smirk, challenging her.

Challenge accepted.

Santana bent her knees and faced Brittany, Brittany adapted the same position.

"Ready…"

"Steady…"

"Go!"

Brittany was apprehensive about fighting Santana but in the second it took for her to step forward she was being thrown backwards and landing with a soft thud on the thick carpet, Santana's body weight pressing down on her.

"Santana one, Brittany nil." Santana quipped and Brittany recovered for the shock.

"What the…"

"Ready for round two? Remember, you're trying to get rid of some of that anger."

Brittany lunged forward but Santana side stepped her and was instantly behind her, pushing her out of the ring.

"Britt, you're killing me! Here I was thinking it might be an even match between us but-"

Brittany stepped into the ring and silently cornered Santana. Before the Latina realised, Brittany was dragging her to the ground, trying to force her onto the back. But Santana was quick and she spun away fast. They grabbed a hold of each other and tried to force the other backward. With Brittany's height, she had an advantage and managed to inch my inch push Santana back and Straddle her. Santana arched her back to keep it off the floor, and Brittany pushed down, trying to counteract the movement.

The implications of the move hit them at the same time when their centres pushed against each other.

"Woah." Brittany smirked as she steadied herself against Santana. "I like wrestling."

Santana laughed heartily and used Brittany's lapse in concentration to flip them, pinning Brittany to the ground.

"No fair! I was…distracted." Brittany pouted.

"Shit you're cute."

"What?" Brittany questioned.

"What?" Santana coughed awkwardly and rolled off the blonde. "Round three, let's go."

Brittany wasted no time in snatching the smaller girl and pulling her into a head lock. Santana tried to twist and turn but there was no way out. Brittany pulled her forward and across her body, effectively making her do a half flip, her back slamming into the ground. A little dazed, Santana looked up at a worried Brittany.

"That's more like it." Santana grinned.

Santana scrambled up and spread her arms. "Come at me bro." she mocked.

Brittany darted forward and they began their tussle once again.

They had what felt like twenty more rounds, Brittany becoming more aggressive with each one.

They were in a compromising position when Quinn found them. Brittany's head was between Santana's legs as Santana held her in a leg lock from behind.

"Oh hey Quinn." Santana said casually.

Quinn glanced around the room. "Don't tell me you two are actually wrestling?"

"Ah-huh."

Brittany looked about to pop she was to red.

"S, she's gonna pass out!" Quinn said, pointing to Brittany and sounding highly alarm.

"Tap out if you're gonna pass out, sweet cheeks." Santana smirked.

Brittany struggled for a few more seconds before taping the ground.

Rachel appeared behind Quinn with big grin. "I'll play!"

Brittany looked to Santana who shrugged. Game on.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was ten o'clock and everyone was home, some of the boys over too. All crowded around the outside of the makeshift wrestling mat cheering on whoever was competing.

After Rachel had joined, the other girls had wanted to as well, even Quinn. Most of them weren't as hard out as Brittany and Santana but it was still fun to watch.

Currently Sam was against Puck. It was a good match. They were about the same size, both athletic. Puck had more muscles because of his boxing but Sam was quick and smart.

The girls had placed bets, Santana betting on Puck while Brittany bet on Sam. The bets of the others were mixed. Mike played some grungy music in the background as the boys battled it out. Puck's big limbs helped him defend himself but when Sam moved in for the kill, there was no way for Puck to get out of the trap. Sam danced around Puck and when an opening occurred he dived into the burly boys mid-section knocking him to the ground. Brittany cheered and Santana held either side of her head, hoping to God she didn't lose the five buck she'd just bet on Noah.

Sam held Puck down with great effort and the ref of the round Finn called game.

Sam yelled in Triumph and Brittany jumped over to him, patting his back.

Santana dropped to her knees and held her five dollar note out in front of her, silently saying goodbye. Rachel snatched the money from her and Santana sneered at her.

"Next up, Brittany and Rachel." Mike announced.

Santana sneer turned into a devilish grin with the knowledge that Rachel was about to get annihilated.

The bets were placed, and the match was underway.

Brittany got Rachel into a headlock without a problem. She was just about to pull Rachel to the ground when she felt fingers hook into her pony tail and yanked backwards. Her whole body jerked violently, giving her whiplash.

"Oh hell no you didn't, bitch!" Santana screamed. "Britt, tap me in, tap me in!"

"I can't get them out!" Rachel squealed.

Brittany understood. Her hair sometimes got knotty when she worked out and worked up a sweat. She let go of Rachel so she could untangle her fingers safely from her hair.

"I'm so sorry." Rachel said. "I went to put my hand on you back and they just got stuck in there. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Brittany grinned.

"Rachel is disqualified for and illegal move so Brittany wins." Mike shouted.

Rachel shrugged and Santana bounded up to the blonde, inspecting her ponytail.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I got a bit of whiplash though so I might sit the rest out."

Santana just smiled and led Brittany to her big red couch that nobody else dared to sit on.

Brittany watched the rest of the night go on, the battles, the betting the bravery by Sugar to go up against Santana. Needless to say that was a one sided match. The laughs and the ooh's and ahh's of the spectators.

Brittany watched Santana as much as she could throughout the night, without being obvious. She lit up the room and she didn't even know it. Her laugh flooded like a warm gust of air through the place. Her presence wasn't massive like Puck's or even Rachel's. But it was there. It was underlying and essential to the chemistry of the entire group. She was so much more than she knew she was.

Santana had been so kind to Brittany when she was upset and she knew exactly what to do to make her feel better. Yes, wrestling was a great was to release endorphins _and_ anger but it was a massive distraction too. Brittany had all but forgotten the relentless teasing she had endured at her afternoon class.

Brittany thought back to her day with Santana. It had been amazing. One that Brittany would never forget. Brittany knew she had reached an important point. She knew now for sure that Santana was not only a part of her life but a part of her. She knew there was no turning back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Wowza, talk about that damn sexual tension! Is it hot in here or is it just Brittana? **

**Also, I think the gang have a problem. They seem to bet on EVERYTHING. Honestly, I think the next chapter is going to have to be about the Glee club going to a gambling support group.**

**Anyway, I was wondering where you guys think I'm from. I'm wondering if it's coming through in my writing? I'd be interested to know what you think. And if you guess right, I'll mention you in the next chapters authors notes. Jus' sayin' **

**The story about Brittany giving her savings to the homeless guy, yeah I did that :) eight year old me was flawless.**

**The song Santana washes the car to is 'wild ones' by Flo Rider and Sia **

**As always thank you for reviewing. I sit there and cry reading all the lovely things you say. Have a great day or night depending on where you are in the world **


	13. Road Trip

Chapter 13- Road Trip

Santana woke up with a stiff neck. She got those when she didn't sleep well. She groaned quietly and tried to sit up but something held her back. Or rather _someone_ held her back. Brittany's arms were wrapped around Santana's waist pulling her into her chest. Santana cracked her eyes open and realised that her face was tucked under Brittany's chin. She smiled and snuggled closer, a sleepy huff coming from Brittany as she tightened her arms and tangled their legs further.

Brittany had snuck into her room in the middle of the night. Santana hadn't been able to sleep so when Brittany tried to come into the room 'quietly', but effectively tripping over a bag on the ground, Santana had giggled. Brittany had dived on Santana and wriggled around, causing Santana to attempt to muffle her laughter. After a few tickle fights they eventually fell asleep on top of each other.

This morning Santana was all tucked up in the blondes arms and it felt too good to describe.

"mmm, you're warm." Santana whispered, kissing Brittany's neck.

"You too," Brittany's breath hitched as Santana kissed in that sensitive spot just behind her ear. "I understand why neck kisses are a turn on for you."

"Mmm, it's a deal breaker."

"So...I have to be good at it?"

Santana nodded with a small smile, intrigued to see the blonde's actions.

Brittany lowered herself down to Santana's exposed neck and started placing soft, open mouthed kisses onto the warm skin. Her hands lingered at the hem of her shirt, fingertips grazing hot skin where the shirt rode up from Santana's movements. Her kisses were slow but heated. Santana squirmed and Brittany took this as a good sign, moving higher to her pulse point, using her soft lips to delicately suck it. Brittany could feel Santana's pulse quicken beneath her lips and it caused her to smile. Santana moaned and Brittany used her teeth to nip at the skin just below Santana's ear, utilizing her able tongue to gently smooth down the skin straight after.

Santana's hips bucked and Brittany groaned this time, grinding her hips back down into Santana's naturally.

"Santana! Get your lazy ass out of bed, it's running time, bitch." Quinn's voice rang out from downstairs, followed by the thumping of footsteps which meant Quinn was bounding up the staircase.

Santana's eyes went wide, and Brittany's did the same.

"Holy shit!" Santana gasped and Brittany jumped off her, standing in the middle of the room looking around for somewhere to hide.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." Santana chanted and stood awkwardly next to the bed.

Quinn burst through the door with a laugh. "Santana Lopez, if I have to drag your sorry ass out of-"

"Hey Quinn." Brittany blurted at Quinn who had halted in the doorway.

"Hey Brittany…what are you doing in here?"

"Ahhhh,"

"Shirt." Santana said.

"Shirt." Brittany reinforced.

"Shirt?" Quinn asked puzzled.

"Shirt," came the in-sync reply.

Brittany bent down to scoop up a random shirt from Santana's floor.

"I was going to borrow this." Brittany shook out the shirt to prove her point. The front of shirt was facing Quinn and she instantly burst out laughing. Brittany turned the shirt and realised there was thick white writing on the front. She read it and turned beet red.

"I think that must be Pucks?" Quinn giggled. "It must be from Santana's gym gear. They mix up their shit all the time."

Santana snatched at the shirt and turned almost an equal shade of red upon reading the print.

'If you're happy and you know it…show me your tits!'

Definitely Pucks.

"I think it was this one you wanted to borrow, Britt." Santana threw a similar coloured shirt Brittany's way from her dresser.

"Yeah, this is it.." Brittany mumbled and bustled past Quinn still obviously blushing.

Quinn grabbed Brittany by the arm and held her in place.

"Want to go for lunch with Tina and I later?" Quinn asked, a hint of a smirk still on her lips.

"Y-yeah. After work." Brittany quickly agreed, glancing at Santana who was looking slightly confused.

"Great." Quinn smiled sweetly. "Come on Santana, I need to get fitter and you can push me. Run time, now."

"So fucking demanding." Santana groaned.

Brittany darted into her room and closed the door, laying down on her bed. Her phone buzzed on her pillow.

_**Woah that was close. We need to be more careful. -Santana**_

Brittan sighed. It had been close. Their little improvised story of 'Brittany wanting to borrow a shirt' was poorly thought out and almost a disaster. The fact that Brittany had picked up possibly the one non-acceptable shirt in the entire room did not help the situation.

_**I know. I'm sorry. We'll be sneakier. – Brittany**_

_**Not your fault Britt Britt. I can definitely do sneaky ;)- Santana**_

"See you later little B!" Quinn shouted from the hallway before pounding down the stairs. A second set of footsteps followed hers but stopped at what Brittany could guess was half way to the bottom. After a beat the thudding footsteps returned but they were getting louder, not softer. Brittany's heart sped up and her stomach did a little flip.

Santana burst through Brittany's door and shut it quickly behind her. Without a word she bounded a few short steps until she was hovering over Brittany on the bed. Slowly, Santana leaned down and gently placed a soft, careful kiss on Brittany's parted lips. A small breath left Brittany as Santana pulled away and her stomach did a bigger, more forceful flip. Santana pulled back but remained hovering over Brittany for a second with a beaming smile.

Santana ran to the door and it was then that Brittany realised she had her running singlet and running shoes on. Santana slipped through the door silently and it was like she had never been there. The only difference in the room from a few seconds ago was the pace of Brittany's racing heartbeat.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany arrived at the studio a little early, she had decided to run to save petrol and she needed the exercise anyway. She liked running, it was one of the simplest ways to get a rush and feel good about yourself.

A class was being held in the smaller studio Brittany went straight to her studio for the next lesson. It was her 16-18 girl hip hop class. She was looking forward to it, having never taught this class or girls this old before.

Brittany decided to chuck on one of her own favourite tracks, Fader by The Temper Trap. As soon as the beat kicked in Brittany was off, using her favourite contemporary and ballet moves to intertwine into something graceful but edgy. The blonde closed her eyes and let the beat and rhythm take her, trusting her limbs to follow each other and move her body the right way. Brittany liked closing her eyes because when you couldn't see what you were doing, you really danced. Lots of people thought dancing was about precise technique and co-ordinated steps, and sometimes it is. But most of the time, it's about letting go. Letting your limbs lead instead of your brain. Letting your mind be lulled into a sedated state by the music and the calm, and letting your body feel it. Brittany spun and lowered her arms, snapping her eyes open as the music completely faded out.

Her eyes locked with someone else's through the mirror and she was instantly captivated. Staring back at her was a girl of what Brittany would guess to be sixteen. She was extremely beautiful with long dirty blonde hair and crystal eyes. Her features were incredible; her pink lips slightly parted leaving her mouth agape. She was looking at Brittany in admiration and curiosity. Her eyes sparkled and her lips pulled back in a small smile.

"Hello." She spoke softly.

"Hi, I'm Brittany. You're here for hip hop?"

"Yes!" the girl grinned.

"Great. What's your name?"

"Carter."

Brittany stuck out her hand and shook it with Carter's. "Very nice to meet you, Carter."

"You too. I think you teach my little brother too, Tony?"

"Oh, Tony! He's great, so cute."

Carter laughed and Brittany noticed how melodic it was. "Try living with him, he can be a little rascal sometimes."

"I bet." Brittany laughed. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Do you know what happened with your old teacher?"

"Yeah, she was moving house and her husband dropped a couch while she was still holding it. The pressure and weight of it made her twist her knee and snap some ligaments or tendons or something."

"Ouch."

"Mhmm, she works much too hard. Maybe it's a silver lining that she gets a break. It's cool we get a new teacher though, change things up a bit."

"Sure. What do you like about dancing?"

"It's, it's an…escape I guess," Carter spoke and Brittany smiled, fully understanding. "It's a way to get away without actually going anywhere." Carter sighed.

By this time a few more girls had arrived and Brittany had gone to introduce herself and learn names. Just before the class was due to start Brittany looked to the back of the studio where Carter was hugging a dark haired girl. Intrigued, Brittan watched on as Carter pulled back and beamed at the girl. Brittany could now see that the other girl was immensely beautiful too.

She had shorter hair that ended just below her shoulders, the choppy layers framing her porcelain face. The girl had striking grey eye's that cut straight through you and impossibly long eyelashes that accented her unusual but fascinating eyes. The girl locked eyes with Brittany and her smile dropped instantly. A slight scowl made its way to her face and Brittany noticed her drop Carters hand.

Even though Brittany could already tell the girl had a rough personality, her face was so soft when she looked at Carter. Brittany felt a pang of familiarity as she watched.

"Hi, I'm Brittany your new dance teacher," Brittany smiled to the new girl. "What's your name?"

"Morgan." The girl said shortly.

Unfazed by Morgan's bluntness Brittany smirked. "Nice to meet you, Morgan. Show me what you've got." Brittany watched as her subtle challenge sunk in before spinning and moving to the front of class.

After a warm up Brittan gave the class of fourteen girls some hip hop moves to perfect, moves that would eventually be used in a larger scale dance. Within five minutes both Morgan and Carter had perfected the moves easily. They were the best in the class and upon inspection Brittany found then to be the prettiest too. They seemed to have it all.

Brittany observed their interaction and was not surprised that Carter seemed to be bubbly and enthusiastic. Her demeanour reminded Brittany much of herself. Morgan was slightly more reserved in her actions. Brittany couldn't help but notice that Morgan smiled a lot when she was talking directly to Carter. She had a stunning smile much like Carter. Brittany natural felt compelled to them. She felt the need to protect them but she didn't know why.

Brittany gave the pair some harder moves for them to work on and watched as the helped each other with different bits. At one point Carter was frowning because her arms wouldn't move in a certain way but Morgan stepped up to her, placed her hands in Caters and slowly manoeuvred her limbs until the move worked. Brittany smiled at how affectionate the gesture was. They were definitely best friends.

After class Carter came to talk to Brittany, Morgan in tow.

"Thanks Brittany, that was really fun." Carter smiled and looked back at Morgan, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, it was cool." Morgan nodded. It was the first time Morgan had said more than one word to Brittany and she noticed how husky Morgan's voice was and was quite surprised it came from such a small being.

"No problem." Brittany smiled, still very intrigued by the two girls.

"We'll see you next week." Carter grinned and ran off towards the door, dragging Morgan with her.

Brittany watched them go, head tilted slightly to the side in thought. Morgan glanced over her shoulder seconds before passing through the door. Upon seeing Brittany's thoughtful stance a look of fear crossed her features. She was gone before Brittany could even register the look.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Brittany, what's up? You're kind of distant?" Tina asked as she took a bite of her salad.

"Sorry," Brittany smiled down at her plate. "I guess I'm still thinking about my class earlier."

"Oh, was it not good?" Quinn asked.

"It was great. They're all lovely and a couple have great potential."

"Then what's up?"

Brittany looked up at her two new friends and searched for an answer. Nothing was actually wrong so she settled for saying just that. "Nothing. I'm good."

"Good," Tina nodded. "cause we kind of wanted to talk to you about something."

"Mhmm." Brittany hummed through a mouthful.

"It's about Santana."

Brittany gulped and sat up a little straighter. "Okay…"

"She's been spending a lot of time with you lately and we're just wondering how you think she's going with, ya know, everything." Tina chose her words carefully.

"Honestly, I think she's going great."

Tina and Quinn looked at each other. "Actually that's kind of what we're afraid of." Quinn started.

Brittany's brow creased in confusion.

"She hasn't really grieved properly. She's had little bursts here and there but we think she's locking it up."

"You're probably right." Brittany nodded. "She told me one night that she hadn't even said goodbye to her brother. I think she needs to do that, get it off her chest."

"Exactly. But we don't think she'll do it by herself." Quinn looked at Tina.

"That's why we're organizing a memorial in Lima. It's for whoever wants to go, whoever wants to say goodbye one last time. But mainly it's for Santana."

"Okay, yeah. That's a good idea. This time maybe her parents won't crack down on it so much." Brittany said.

"We guessed that his funeral would have been super religious and that's not for everybody. Not for Santana." Tina pulled her bottom lip into her mouth.

"When will this memorial be?"

"We're thinking in two weeks when everyone's got a break. It'll be a good chance for us to see our parents too."

"You can meet our parents!" Tina squealed.

"Isn't it a bit early for that? Geez talk about commitment." Brittany joked.

"You wait till you meet Kurt's dad, Burt." Quinn grinned knowingly.

"Kurt's dad is called Burt? Kurt and Burt?"

Quinn shrugged. "So maybe Burt's not that original with name choosing." Tina laughed.

"We'll have the memorial at our old school. People can do readings and Glee might sing a couple songs although I don't know if we'll be able to get through it." Quinn smiled sadly.

"Marco was a big bro to a lot of us," Tina nodded. "especially Quinn and Puck."

"And that is why he deserves a memorial where he's remembered for the legend that he is." Quinn said.

"But I think we keep this whole thing on the down low for now." Tina said.

"I agree. We'll get it sorted and then tell everyone." Quinn added.

"You guys are great friends to San." Brittany smiled.

"So are you Brittany. You've looked after her a lot in the past couple of weeks. Are _you_ doing okay?" Tina asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just glad I have such awesome roommates." Brittany grinned.

"Ghaw, what a sap." Quinn smirked.

"You love it."

"Yeah I do!"

"Group hug?"

"Get in here."

"love you guys!"

"We sound drunk."

"Drunk on life?"

"Get outa town."

"I'm leaving."

"Quinn come back!"

The three girls walked out of the café laughing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Later, in the apartment]

"Hey S, did you hear?" Quinn asked from the kitchen as Santana walked through the door.

"Hear what?"

"Mr Shue got us another gig. A big one."

"Where?"

"The Hamptons," Quinn grinned. "and hopefully we'll get a couple days to relax and hang out there after."

"Oh." Santana's brow creased.

"What's wrong? It'll be like a little holiday."

Santana's stomach dropped. She didn't want to spend a long time away from Brittany. They were getting closer every day and the truth was, Santana was happier if she was in the same room as the bubbly blonde. Even the thought of her made the Latina smile. Santana shook her head, she was getting way too attached way too fast.

"No, that's great." Santana forced a smile.

"What's great?" Brittany's voice piped up from behind Santana

"Glee got another gig. Usually we don't get shows so close together." Quinn answered.

"Oh, where is it?"

Santana could hear the slight tinge of disappointment in Brittany's voice.

"The Hamptons." Quinn repeated.

"Really!" Brittany shouted and Santana jumped at the sudden enthusiasm.

"Yeah?" Quinn said confused.

"My family have a holiday house there, you guys could stay there. Everyone will fit."

"Can you come with us?" Santana asked.

"Am I allowed?" Brittany asked shyly.

Quinn laughed. "Of course you are, B. Especially if we're gonna be staying at your house."

Brittany grinned so big Santana was scared her face was going to split in half. It made her skin tingle to think of time away with Brittany.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to stay at your house Britt?"

"Sure. Nobody ever uses it anyway."

"We better pack. We're leaving tomorrow." Quinn glanced at her watch.

"Tomorrow?" Brittany questioned.

Quinn and Santana both shrugged like the incredibly short notice was normal.

"Can you get work off?" Santana asked.

"I don't have work from Friday till Tuesday so I'm good." Brittany smiled at Santana.

"Road trip!" Quinn squealed.

"Fuck yeah." Santana grinned a lazy grin.

"I'll call Mr Shue and tell him about staying at Brittany's." Quinn said and exited the room.

"So we'll drive there?" Brittany frowned at looked at her shoes, navy high top Nike's that complimented her long, lean legs.

"Yeah." Santana said half dazed as she watched the muscles in Brittany's legs tense and un-tense as she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"San…" Brittany whined.

"What's the matter?"

"It's a four hour drive from here to the Hamptons…"

"Yeah?" Santana laughed softly and grabbed Brittany's hands, holding them in her own.

"It's a long time in a car and I just…" Brittany adverted her eyes.

"Britt, what is it?"

"Iwantyoutobeinmycar." Brittany blurted.

"Oh." Santana nodded. "Maybe I can get Puck to drive my car up and I'll come with you."

"Really?"

"Really." Santana smiled.

"But you love your car. What if he crashes?"

"Then I'll kill him." Santana smiled sweetly.

"I'll help." Brittany laughed.

"Thank you. Besides, I couldn't stand a long drive with most of these people anyway." Santana waved her hand in the air. "You'll make it bearable."

"Road trip." Brittany repeated Quinn and pulled Santana into her, locking her hands at the small of her back.

"And maybe I'll get to see you performing?"

"Maybe, if you're lucky."

"I'm already lucky." Brittany bit on the corner of her lip.

"and maybe you'll get lucky." Santana wiggled her eyebrows and Brittany's mouth fell open.

Santana spun away from Brittany and darted to the stairs. "Let's go, long legs, we gotta get packing."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It ended up that Santana had let puck drive her car and called shot gun next to Brittany who was driving. Sam, Quinn and Sugar filled up the back seat of Brittany's car.

"Santana, what did you say to Puck before we left?" Quinn asked, only half interested.

"Only that I'd cut off his family jewels if he so much as scratched Landie."

"Charming."

"Well, I had to threaten him with something of value."

"Value?" Quinn spat, disgusted.

"Value to _him_, Quinnie."

"Ah."

"It was either that, sport or porn. But god knows there's more of that on the internet and TV than there are teeth in Berry's mouth. A-freaking-lot."

Sam sniggered and Quinn smacked his thick arm.

"Why are you so mean to Rachel? Seriously."

"Seriously," Santana rolled her eyes, "She's always riding me about shit. She doesn't let people live their own lives. Plus, she smells like lentils and damp wood half the time."

It was Quinn's turn to roll her eyes. "She has good intentions."

"Wait, she thinks by smelling like vegetables and wood, she's helping me out?"

Brittany and sugar sniggered then, Santana's wit too funny to hold it in.

"Santana! Can't you take anything seriously?"

"I believe I can't."

Quinn slammed back into her seat and blew blonde hair out of her face.

"San, Rachel can be cool. She made me pizza the other day." Brittany shrugged.

"Yeah?"

Brittany nodded, keeping her eyes on the road.

"What did it taste like?"

"Feet."

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Did you eat it?" Sam laughed out.

Brittany grimaced and nodded again. Sam tipped back his head and more deep laughter rumbled out.

"I'm gonna text her." Santana giggled.

"What? No don't! What if she never makes me food again? Or hates me!" Brittany swiped for Santana's phone and missed miserably.

Santana laughed and poked her tongue out. "Dear Berry, all those in the Audi would love some of your famous feet pizza this weekend. Please and thank you." Santana spoke as she typed.

"No,no,no!" Brittany squealed and laughed, one hand gliding all over Santana in a feeble attempt to snatch her phone while still keeping her eyes in the road.

"Send." Santana grinned.

"Screw you Lopez." Brittany scolded but a laugh bubbled up through her. Brittany's hand lingered on Santana's lower stomach for just a second longer before she pulled back to put both hands back on the staring wheel.

"Think she'll reply?" Sugar asked.

Santana and Quinn scoffed.

"She _always_ reply's." Quinn laughed.

Santana's phone chimed indicating a new text and Quinn spread her arms as if to prove her point.

"She said 'Of course I can make some pizza! I'm assuming you mean my Feta Eggplant and Tomato specialty. I will buy the ingredients when we arrive so all can enjoy tonight :-)- Rachel Barbra Berry.' Unbelievable." Santana stared at her phone in shock.

Brittany screamed out in laughter, shaking so much she forced herself back in her seat and straightened her arms to keep the car on course. Sam and Sugar joined in too, smacking their hands on the back of the seats in front of them.

Santana started laughing, holding her head in her hands. After everyone else had quietened down Brittan noticed that Santana wasn't laughing, in fact she was moaning and groaning.

"San, what's wrong?"

"We have to eat Rachel's pizza for dinner!"

Sam physically gagged as the realisation set in. Quinn pulled her hair back from her face looking like she just watched someone being beaten to death with a blunt pencil. Sugar face palmed but missed and whacked herself in the eye, yelping in pain.

"Not so clever now are you, San?" Brittany teased.

"What are you smirking about? You have to eat it too." Santana grumbled.

"Yeah, but I know where the good alcohol to wash it down with is."

Santana gave the blonde a sly smile. "Sharing is caring."

"And if we're caring and sharing, I think alcohol should be consumed before the pizza consuming." Sam added.

"Top idea." Sugar chimed.

"I think we should fill up on lunch too." Quinn added.

"Yeah, the next diner we'll stop off." Brittany said.

"Whoo!" Sam shouted

Santana's phone chimed. "I just got a text from Mike, he says Puck said to tell Brittany 'Nice car. Your back seat or mine ;).' Slimy little bastard!"

"Ugh. That's terrible. Ask him what else he's got." Brittany screwed up her nose.

Santana sent the text and it chimed again a minute later.

"He says 'I lowered my truck 'cause women love guys that go down.' Jesus, I'm going to be sick." Santana screwed up her face.

"And this is why Puck is the asshole of our group." Sam clapped.

"Um, guys that go down where? Like, Antarctica or floor level?" Sugar asked innocently.

Quinn pursed her lips to stop a scoff escaping. Santana turned around with a devilish look in her eye and opened her mouth to speak.

"No, Santana!" Quinn cut her off.

Santana ignored Quinn however. "Well, my sweet little sugar, what Puck means is-"

"No!" Brittany and Sam shouted simultaneously.

Santana rolled her eyes but stopped talking.

"Text back and tell him I'm gonna kick his ass for being crude." Brittany said.

"_You're_ gonna kick his ass?" Santana giggled.

Brittany tilted her head to the side in thought. "Okay, tell him _you're_ gonna kick his ass." Brittany laughed.

"There's a diner up here!" Sam announced.

Brittany pulled her Audi into the service lane and parked up next to a cute little diner that was classically American although had a lot of character. Everyone jumped out of the car and stretched their legs appreciatively. The other cars pulled up soon after, following the same routine.

"Lunch then?" Blaine asked through his window.

"Yes sir, food time, holla." Sugar said in a sing song voice.

Brittany locked her car and looked around for Santana. She had to laugh when she saw her on Puck's back, swatting the back of his head. Puck was swivelling and bucking, trying to throw the smaller girl but she held tight, planting a few good slaps around his ear. Once she was satisfied she slid off Pucks burley back and wandered inside the diner with Tina, like nothing had happened.

Puck saw Brittany looking and laughed, spreading his arms as if to say 'Fuck, I just got the beat down and know exactly what for.' Brittany laughed and shook her head, following a chatty Rachel inside the red faded door.

"Hello kids, what can I do you for?" a chirpy old lady behind the counter grinned.

"We'll grab some tables and menus, thanks." Finn smiled.

Brittany was near the back of the group and once she got to the table she heard some bickering.

"This isn't second grade Santana." Rachel huffed.

Santana had her foot propped up on the seat next to her. "Sorry but it's saved."

Rachel rolled her eyes and went in search for a new seat. Santana noticed the blonde and leaned forward to snatch her shirt, dragging her into the seat.

"Saved you a seat." Santana winked.

"Thanks." Brittany grinned, sliding a menu over to her seat saver.

"What are you going to get?" Santana asked, flicking through her menu.

"Chocolate milkshake and a cheese burger. Said on the sign it was almost as big as a head."

"Sounds good. I think I'll get the same but." Santana tapped her chin. "maybe vanilla instead."

"Yum."

"Okay kiddo's, what would you like?" the same old lady asked them, pen and notepad at the ready.

The group sounded off their orders and the waitress walked off to the kitchen. She came back out seconds later with complimentary baskets of fries.

"Watch this." Santana whispered into Brittany's ear, causing light tingles to bolt all over her body.

Brittany watched as Santana picked up a French frie from the basket and fling it skilfully at Pucks face. It hit him square between the eyes and for a second he was completely cross eyed as he watched it fall from his face to the table.

Santana turned to Brittany quickly, picking up random conversation to portray innocence. There was a couple of seconds quiet, Puck trying to figure out who was the culprit before Brittany felt something whiz by close to her and the undeniable shout from Sam.

"Puck, did you just throw fries at me?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Just returning the favour, home boy."

"You really wanna play that game?" Sam growled.

"What're you even-" Puck shook his head. "Is that supposed to be intimidating? I'm more afraid of Mercedes when it's that time of the month!"

Santana, Quinn, Sugar and Rachel all raised their hands to the sky and moved them back and forth.

"Preach."

"Praise."

"Hallelujah."

Brittany looked at Mercedes who had massive over ear headphones on, bobbing her head to the beat of her music, completely oblivious. Thank God for that.

Sam picked up a few fries and smeared them into Pucks landing strip of hair.

"Oh no you di'ant." Puck ghetto finger snapped.

Sam laughed at Pucks uncharacteristic behaviour and Puck took the opportunity to push the other boy to the ground. While laughing Puck dumped an entire basket of fries over Sam's golden head and drew a smiley face with the ketchup bottle on Sam's face.

"You little shit!" Sam screamed out.

"Mmmm Samuel," Puck said in a women's voice. "might I say you look very…saucy today." he finished with a wink and a bow to the table of laughing friends that were very used to their friends antics.

"Boys, there is no fighting in this diner! Out, the both of you!" the old lady that took their order demanded.

"Oh come on, we were just messin' around." Puck tried to negotiate.

"What about the other customers? They deserve to dine in peace." The lady snapped.

The gang looked around the dead empty diner.

"Ummm…" Puck started.

The lady just pointed her finger to the door.

Puck spread his arms and Sam hung his head but they both made their way to the door.

"Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya!" Santana called out.

Puck flipped her off before his face lit up. "Hey Blondie, can we take your car for a spin?"

Brittany laughed a little, then she laughed a little harder. She shook her head, wiped her eyes and giggle some more. When she looked up, she found Puck staring at her expectantly.

"Oh wait, you're serious?"

This evoked sniggeres out of the majority of the group. Puck nodded and Brittany sighed.

"That car is like my baby. If it was a real baby I wouldn't let an impulsive, irrational, possibly on steroids, male adolescent look after my baby. The same goes for my car, sorry." Brittany shrugged.

To her surprise Puck grinned. "You're smart, Blondie. But I'm not on steroids, it's all natural baby." Puck flexed his arms for show and Sugar banged on the table and cheered. She was the only one.

With that the two guys left the diner, having been kicked out by a going on seventy five year old waitress.

Santana pretended to brush her shoulders. "And that is how it's done."

"Swag." Artie said and put up his hand for a HI five which Santana returned.

"I believe the term is 'Swagie.'" Sugar scoffed.

"You knew that would happen?"

"I knew _something_ would happen. Those two are so predictable."

"Santana Lopez, you're fucking evil." Kurt sounded from behind her, obviously listening to the conversation.

Santana gasped and held a hand to her chest. "Kurt, I am a _lady_. I'd at least make evil buy me dinner first."

Brittany giggled and Kurt clapped his hands together with a grin.

"Here are your meals." The waitress smiled.

It took a few trips but finally all the meals and drinks were brought out. Brittany was disappointed that her burger wasn't as big as a head but happily chomped away none the less.

After a few bites Brittany noticed two untouched meals in the centre of the table and figured they were Puck and Sam's.

"Cover me, I'm gonna sneak these out." Brittany told Santana.

Santana looked around to see where the waitress was and nodded. Brittany scooted quickly past the counter and out the door. Puck and Sam were throwing rocks at a can.

"I didn't throw the damn fries!" Sam argued.

"I bet it was Santana. The little minx." Puck laughed.

"We're too predictable you know." Sam chuckled.

"Hey guys want some lunch?" Brittany made herself known.

"Aw yes, thanks Brittany." Sam grinned and picked up his burger, finishing a third in one bit.

"Cheers, Blondie." Puck stood up, dusting off his shirt. "You're a good sort."

"I'm sorry I wouldn't lend you my car but if you crashed it and didn't die, I would have to kill you anyway."

"No, I get it. I wouldn't lend me a car either. I don't know what Santana was thinking." Puck grinned.

Brittany made her way back to the diner thinking that Puck was probably a big softie underneath that rough, tough exterior.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After lunch the cars were filled back up for the rest of the two and a half hour journey. Now they were on the motor way it was easier to go faster and Brittany did just that. Loving the feeling of her powerful motor pushing the car along effortlessly, the big engine revving with the change of gears. Brittany slowed back down though, before she got too carried away.

"Did you guys see Finn and Rachel and lunch? Talk about PDA." Quinn said, sounding revolted.

"They were all over each other." Sugar confirmed.

"Usually I don't mind so much but with them I just, I feel like it's the start of some very low budget porno for men with a very specific fetish." Quinn said, shivering.

"The fetish being 'giants doing dwarfs.'" Santana said.

"Creeps me out." Quinn nodded.

"I don't care too much. I think good for Finn, least he's gettin' some." Sam said.

"Yeah but that 'some' is Berry…I wonder if she's as commanding in the bedroom as she is in day to day life?" Santana said, gazing into space.

"I'd put money on it." Sam said.

"You'd put money on anything." Brittany commented and Sam laughed.

"I can think of tons of positions that wouldn't work 'cause of the height difference." Santana said expertly.

"Gross!"

"Ugh."

"I have the worst images in my head right now."

"We're moving on from this subject right now." Sam grumbled, reaching forward to plug his IPod into Brittany's car. He took a few seconds to find the song he wanted before pressing play and turning it up. Piano chords blasted through the subs and when the singing came through it felt like the whole car vibrated. Brittany recognised the song as 'Let it Roll' by Flo Rider.

"_Love is nice when it's understood. Even nicer when it makes you feel good. You got me trippin' why our love is old. Come on baby, let the good times roll."_ Sam sung out from the back seat putting on an old black man accent. He was really quite good.

"_It's like Woodstock city, brand new billion and bark to the music, sucker than a psychic. My heart beat acoustic, moves like Hendrick, Walk to a fire, then I flame and kiss it_." Brittany rapped before passing it onto Santana.

"_Go hard in my lambo, strikes and a visit, to meeting in the rain, gotta roll with the vision. Vision of a good time, all I wanna know. When the party gon' stop, let the good times roll_." Santana sang, fist pumping the air and pretending to roll the dice to Sugar.

"_Come on let's go, you got another minute get the party on the roll, ain't nothing like the feeling when you're winning in your soul the wheel keep spinning, only got one love, Stop, stop the show,"_ Sugar did some robot moves and passed the verse onto Quinn.

"_and stop, stop the flow, the world ain't ready cause I rock the globe, so act like you know, act like you know, act like you know, just what to do when the good times roll." _Quinn slammed out the last few lines.

"_Love is nice when it's understood, even nicer when it makes you feel got me trippin' why our love is old, Come on baby, let the good times roll_." The whole car screamed out in laughter, trying to be louder than each other.

"That's a good jam, but I've got a better one." Santana said, reaching for Sam's IPod and flicking through songs.

"Ah huh." Santana smiled and changed the song.

The familiar guitar riff of Thunderstruck by ACDC came blasting through the speakers and Sam immediately started playing air drums when the kick pedal sounded while Sugar took care of the bass and Quinn took over guitar. Santana was left singing while Brittany half watched, half listened in amazement.

"Thunder!" they chanted over and over leading up to the first verse.

"_I was caught, In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder) And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder) My mind raced, and I thought what could I do (Thunder) And I knew there was no help, no help from you."_ Santana lip synced dramatically.

"_Sound of the drums_!" Santana carried on and Quinn got more into her guitar bits, even putting on some facials.

"_Beatin' in my heart. The thunder of guns, tore me apart. You've been_ – "

Sam's limbs went crazy and he smashed out a drum solo before the chorus, perfectly in time with the beats.

"_Thunderstruck!"_

Brittany laughed at what she witnessing. These were twenty year olds playing hard out air instruments without a care in the world. She loved it

"_Went down the highway, broke the limit, we hit the town, went through to Texas, yeah Texas  
and we had some fun. We met some girls, some dancers who gave a good time_." Santana looked over to Brittany and winked.

"_Broke all the rules, played all the fools,"_ Santana pointed toward the back-seat bandits with a cheeky grin but they were too engrossed in the song to care.

"_Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds."_

Quinn, Sugar and Sam all played their instruments in three consecutive beats along with the music.

"_I was shakin' at the knees_,"

Sam slammed his fists down on his imaginary sneer drum.

"Could I come again please?"

Quinn strummed three times against her imaginary strings.

"_Yeah the ladies were too kind."_

Sugar moved her hands to play her imaginary notes

"_You've been – thunderstruck!"_

For the next hour they chose different songs to dance, sing or jam along to and Brittany had never in her entire life had so much fun in a car ride. All the fun had worn out everyone though and soon Brittany was feeling like the dad that has to drive home after a holiday while the kids are passed out in the back seat and the mom is 'resting her eyes.'

Sam was pressed up against the door snoring softly while Quinn was tucked neatly in his shoulder. Sugars head was in Quinn's lap and they looked incredibly peaceful.

Santana was obviously fighting to stay awake by occupying herself with Sam's IPod. Brittany reached over and gently took it from her.

"Sleep San."

Santana glanced over to the back seat and smiled. "I like them most when they're sleeping."

Brittany chucked softly. Santana relaxed back into her seat and Brittany selected a song and lowered the volume. She picked Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. The soft ukulele played though the speakers and Santana smiled softly.

"Good taste."

"Why do think so?" Brittany asked just above a whisper.

"It was my brother's favorite." Santana breathed out before dropping into peaceful sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kids, wake up." Brittany laughed softly. "We're here."

Brittany had parked up outside of her parent's beach house but was having trouble waking the others. The blonde gently shook Santana awake and caught her breath at the sight of her opening her eyes. Her dark eyes were somewhat milky and clouded over with sleep. A clear sheen ran over the deep colour making them look lighter than usual. Santana licked her lips and rubbed her eyes.

"We made it." Brittany said quietly.

Santana smiled and leaned forward to look at the house through the windscreen.

"Oh. My. God."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Okay guys look, I really am so sorry for the late update. I can only say that I had end of semester stuff due in and I really had to do that instead of this. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this fic I promise.**

**Well done to Aurinko9 who guessed I'm from New Zealand! Bang on, you win a small Maori person and a carton of milk.**

**The introduction of Carter and Morgan was quite important in this chapter but just wanting to know if you guys actually want to have them involved in the story more? Also because I'm a very visual person I have links here to what my Morgan and Carter would look like, if you wanted something to visualise while reading. Spent a while trying to find the right ones to what I wanted.**

**Carter- . /imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1311&bih=684&tbm=isch&tbnid=p-tbtnJuWQ3WPM:&imgrefurl= monika-jagaciak-the-rising-polish-model/&docid=8vaeskLg3Erz7M&imgurl= . &w=639&h=840&ei=8i75T8LBLK-5iAf45aT2Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=784&vpy=100&dur=46&hovh=257&hovw=196&tx=102&ty=164&sig=113503310407162600490&page=2&tbnh=150&tbnw=114&start=22&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:22,i:199**

**Morgan-**

** . /imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1311&bih=684&tbm=isch&tbnid=ezboArL2X9F_EM:&imgrefurl= pregnancy/preparing-for-baby/baby-names/baby-names-games-message-board/112717&docid=Fq_VupsSt0nuTM&imgurl= file_thumbview_ &w=380&h=253&ei=WS_5T83eMsTYigec4KTRBg&zoom=1**

**It was my birthday last week so as a present you could maybe review, yay! Even constructive criticism is encouraged. (be nice though please, no low blows)**

**Road trip songs are Let it roll- Flo Rida and Thundersrtuck- ACDC.**

**If you guys want a good read check out 'Push and Pull' and 'Regrets and Regression' by furryewoka zon. **

**Good stuff. Next update will NOT take so long. Hampton holiday is up next, hold on kids you're in for a bumpy ride.**


	14. Second base

Chapter 14: Second base.

"Holy shit." Sam's croaky voice sounded from the back seat.

"It's so big!" Quinn squeaked.

"That's what she said." Brittany joked, earning a snigger from Santana who had her eyes fixated on the house before her.

In all honestly, it wasn't exactly a house. More of a mansion or manor. Brittany's parents had money and had invested in some pretty elaborate properties.

"Out. All of you, out of my car." Brittany joked.

Sam obliged, swinging his legs out the door and using the car frame to pull himself up. As soon as he took his first step his legs gave way and he fell flat on his face.

"Dead leg." He informed the group with a dismissal wave.

Brittany and Santana looked at each other before bursting into laughter. They hadn't been there five minutes and already they had a man down. This was going to be interesting.

The other cars pulled up next to them and most looked over at her a little sceptically.

"What?" Brittany asked.

"Are you taking the piss?" Puck asked

"I think the piss is being taken." Kurt nodded.

Brittany walked the path to the front door and pulled out her keys to unlock it. She had a key for this house and her parents back in Lima.

"Fuck yeah!" Puck shouted with the confirmation that they were actually staying there.

"You can use any of the rooms except the one on the bottom floor down the hall from the office, that's my parents, and the one on the top floor at the end of the hall, that's mine." Brittany announced. "Otherwise it's all yours."

A chorus of thanks was shouted out as everyone rushed inside with their bags. Santana stayed behind though, just looking at the house. It was modern looking, with big glass panes and white and charcoal weather boards. It was three story's and wide too. It was a dream house.

Santana picked up her bag and Brittany took hers from the car and they walked through the front door. She could hear the screams from the others. Screams of excitement and discovery.

"Look at the pool!" Mike said in delight.

"Screw the pool, look at the sea!" Sam bounced up and down like a kid.

Santana looked out from the open plan kitchen and living area to the sparkling pool complimented with white deck chairs. Beyond the pool was a beautiful white sand beach and beyond that, an dark blue sea.

There was light thumping from upstairs and muffled screeching.

"Finn, look at the towels. The towels Finn, rub your face on them." Rachel said.

"There are so many bathrooms I can't choose which one to use!" Puck complained.

"It's wheelchair accessible!" Artie hummed cheerfully.

"We're going to have the biggest party tonight." Mercedes yelled.

Brittany turned to Santana who seemed pretty unfazed by it all.

"Want a room close to mine?"

"Of course." Santana smiled.

"Cool, follow me."

Brittany led the way through the kitchen to a large set of stairs that curled up to the next floor. Once on the second floor they saw Quinn and Sugar deciding which rooms to occupy. After another set of stairs identical to the first they were on the third and final floor. Nobody seemed to have made it up this far yet.

Brittany stopped at the final door down the long hallway and pushed it open. "This is my room," Brittany left the door open and moved another a few steps down the hall to another door. "maybe you could have this one?"

Santana stepped inside the room, graced with a large bed and even its own bathroom.

"It's amazing, thank you" Santana smiled dropping her bag on the bed.

"It's one of the better rooms." Brittany nodded.

"So your room is just there?" Santana pointed out the door.

"Yup, only a few steps away."

Santana darted into Brittany's room and Brittany followed laughing. The first thing that Santana noticed was that the room was small. Smaller than any of the other rooms she'd seen in the house, much smaller than her own. She also noticed that it didn't have its own bathroom. She was about to ask why Brittany would choose this room over the others in the house when she looked up.

An insanely big window showed directly out to the ocean. There was nothing blocking the view of the ocean, it was just pure blue as far as the eye could see. Because it was late afternoon, the sky was and orangey red and it spread across the sky in ripples. If Santana was asked to describe it she might have said that God knocked over his raspberry soda and it spilt all through the clouds.

After seeing that sight, Santana didn't need to ask why Brittany chose the runty room.

Set in the window was a pair of ranch sliding doors and so Santana pulled them open with great effort. If felt like they hadn't been opened in a long time. Outside was a small patio that was just large enough for two chairs and a small table.

"I forgot how good it smells out here." Brittany mused.

Santana inhaled though her nose and marvelled at the smell she hadn't noticed yet. It smelt like sea water, fresh grass and wet concrete, if that was possible.

"It's just so…" Santana started, lost for words at the sight of the soda stained sky and endless azure of the ocean. It was so serene and calming.

"Isn't it?" Brittany grinned and spread her arms. "I'm king of the world!"

Santana laughed, "Oh, you didn't."

"But I so did."

Santana grinned and stepped closer. "Shouldn't it be _queen_ of the world?

"Maybe, but out here we play by my rules, and I want to be king." Brittany said mischievously.

"What _are_ your rule_s_, king?"

"Nothing too strenuous just that hot Hispanic girls aren't allowed to wear clothes." Brittany shrugged.

"So you think I'm 'hot', Britt?"

Brittany looked up confused, "No…I was talking about my neighbour, Maria."

Santana hit the blonde in the shoulder.

"Ow! I'm just kidding," Brittany cracked a grin. "you're totally hot and Maria is totally fictional."

"I'm glad, I was thinking I might have some competition." Santana laughed.

"San, please. Who could ever compete with you?"

"There you two are!" Rachel's voice gave both girls a fright.

"Oh wow, Brittany this room is tiny compared to the others. Why would you pick this one? There's a room spare downstairs if you want more space." Rachel said, hardly glancing at the view.

"I'm good here, thanks. Plus, Will and Emma will need a room with more space when they get here tomorrow night."

"Okay," Rachel shrugged. "We're going to the store, could we get directions?"

"I'll take you."

"Oh great! We're ready when you are." Rachel turned and headed down the stairs.

"What do ya say, hottie, wanna go shopping with me?" Brittany asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Santana joked and followed Rachel's path out the door and down the stairs.

It seemed that Sam had occupied another bedroom on the third floor, Blain, Kurt, Sugar, Quinn and Puck were on the second floor and the rest were on ground floor. The third floor was only rooms and bathrooms while the second floor had more living areas like a lounge, kitchenette and a movie room. The ground floor contained the kitchen, main dining area and gym area as well as bedrooms and bathrooms. People were still running around like crazies, touching everything and sitting on every bed and couch in the house just because they could.

"Guess it shows that we're from Lima." Santana sighed.

"Who's going?" Brittany asked once they were in the kitchen.

Rachel pointed to the small group, more people than could fit in Brittany's car.

"Should we use Landie?" Santana asked.

"Here's the key." Puck dug into his pocket.

"Let's go."

Brittany rode shot gun, directing Santana where to go. The whole trip, the kids in the back seat pressed their faces up against the windows to get a better look at the houses they passed. A few were similar size to Brittany's but none were bigger.

"Blondie, your house is so freakin' big. I can't believe you don't boast about it, I would." Puck sniggered.

"Yeah, it's a monster alright. Just makes me like you even more!" Finn joked awkwardly.

Brittany coughed and pretended to concentrate on driving.

"I know someone with a house in the Hamptons." Puck mused with a laugh.

"It really is a gorgeous house, Brittany. I love the colours of it." Tina added and Brittany smiled and thanked her for the comment.

When they pulled into the car lot of the super market it was pretty full. Being summer and almost the weekend, lots of people were around. The group had to get groceries for the next five days so both Rachel and Finn grabbed trollies and pushed them into the air conditioned building.

Santana and Brittany hung back a little, not actually wanting to have to take part in the shopping side of things. From the back they could also observe everybody which was always interesting. First were Tina and Mike.

Mike had is arm draped casually over Tina's shoulders and she leant into him.

"They're adorable." Brittany pointed.

"They'll get married for sure. Then they'll have good looking little Chang babies that will already have six packs when they pop out of girl Chang." Santana said sarcastically.

"Have they been like this since high school?"

"Yup, they never get tired of each other, it's incredible. And they have sex I swear every single day."

"Sounds like a good life." Brittany giggled.

Mike kissed Tina's temple and she looked up at him adoringly. Mike seemed like the kind of guy every girl dreamed off. He was sweet, smart and completely ripped. Husband material without a doubt.

"What about Finn and Rachel?"

"They're hard to deal with sometimes."

"How so?"

"They fight a lot and they're not as natural as Tina and Mike. They seem kind of…forced."

Brittany looked at Rachel who was making Finn read the back of some cereal box.

"Do you think they're happy?"

"I don't know and I don't think they know either."

"You only live once, why do some people spend it being unhappy?" Brittany asked, running her hand along a white shelf.

"I don't know that either. Maybe it's complicated."

Brittany shook her head. Happy and unhappy should not be complicated.

"What about Puck, what's his deal?"

"Puck? He's a big softie really, he just doesn't want people to know it."

"Like you?" Brittany asked with a smirk.

"Hell no! I'm not a softie."

"You are, San."

"No!"

"You're a big marshmallow on the inside. All soft and spongy." Brittany teased.

Santana huffed and crossed her arms.

"It's okay, I like you even more for it." Brittany whispered.

Santana remained looking straight ahead but her crossed arms loosened a little and a tiny smile curved her lips.

"Sam?"

"There's not a bad bone in that boy's body. He's going to make some girl very happy one day."

Brittany watched Puck and Sam screwing around, throwing packets of food at each other until the store manager told them off.

"They're kind of like brothers aren't they?"

"We're all like one big family." Santana screwed her nose up at the thought. "One big incest family."

Brittany laughed but screwed up her nose too.

"Maybe don't think of it like that," Santana laughed "but really, we are. Look, we've got the moms and dads," Santana pointed at Rachel, Mike and Tina who were deciding on what breads to get. "we've got the kids," Santana pointed to Puck and Sam who were throwing boxes of condoms at each other and then hiding behind soup stands. "and lastly, the creepy uncle." Santana finished by pointing at Finn who was picking up the boxes of condoms Sam and Puck left in their wake.

"What does that make you?"

"The hot daughter?"

Brittany giggled and nodded her head, "Perfect."

Once the two trollies were filled up the group made their way to the check out. Finn pulled out the wad of cash everyone had coughed up and paid for the food. When they got back to the house Quinn thankfully managed to talk Rachel out of cooking pizza and into letting her cook burgers.

Rachel huffed and grumbled but was cheered up by the invitation to swim. Brittany threw on her bikini and sprinted downstairs. She had always loved to swim especially when it was so warm. It was verging on darkness and Brittany saw that the outside lights had been turned on, lighting up the entire patio and pool area, even a little way out onto the sand. The ocean was almost visible from the pool now.

Everyone but Quinn and Artie were either in the pool or beside it so Brittany earned a big cheer when she ran, threw her body forward over the water and pulled off a perfect backflip. One of the perks of being a dancer was your body let you do stuff like that easily and you weren't afraid to do it.

"Damn Blondie, you got some skills." Puck yelled when Brittany resurfaced.

Brittany just shrugged and laughed when Sam tipped Puck into the pool and dunked him under.

"I hate you!" Tina yelled at Brittany whose eyes went wide in alarm.

"No, I don't really hate you, I just hate how good you look in that bikini." Tina grumbled.

"You said the same thing to Santana five minutes ago!" Mike pointed out.

"I hate them both." Tina whined but was soon cheered up by Mike whispering in her ear.

Brittany looked for Santana and sure enough she was looking smokin' in a black bikini with very low cut bottoms.

"Chicken fight?" Sam yelled to Brittany, knocking her out of her daze.

"Yes! I'll go on your shoulders, Santana can go on Pucks." Brittany answered.

Puck and Sam swam over and Santana reluctantly got in the pool.

Puck hoisted Santana up with ease but manhandled her none the less. Sam sunk below the water so Brittany could step forward and slide onto his shoulder, much more courteous than Puck's procedure.

Brittany felt her body being pushed back with force as Sam burst out from under the water, handling Brittany's weight like she was no more than a feather.

Brittany was eye level with Santana and grinning like a loon. She could hear the others around her shouting out and cheering for the two opposing sides. Puck suddenly surged forward and Santana, on his shoulders, latched onto Brittany and desperately tried to push her backwards and off of Sam. Brittany however was not one to be outdone or beaten and so she fought back, using her height advantage to regain her balance. Both girls core muscles strained and tensed as they pushed and pulled at each other, their hands roaming where ever they could. Neither would openly admit it but they were using the opportunity to cop a sneaky feel.

Sam and Puck beneath them grunted and laughed their deep laughs as they tried to keep the girls on their shoulders upright all while pool water splashed into their mouths and noses. Santana reached forward and blatantly used both of her hands to push on Brittany's chest, her hands strategically placed, one on each boob.

Brittany was so shocked that she forgot about the game and in the moments laps in concentration, she found herself falling backwards off Sam's shoulders. She might have been angry at the cheeky move that caused her and Sam to lose if she wasn't almost positive she felt Santana squeeze before she shoved her back.

Sam pulled her up from under the water with a big grin. "What happened!" Sam laughed. "Come on, team blonde bombshells have to win this thing. Best out of three!" He yelled at Puck who pounded his chest like a gorilla.

Brittany looked up and Santana still perched on his shoulders and got the shock of her life when the girl winked the most suggestive wink she had ever seen.

"Blonde bombshells?" Brittany laughed once she recovered enough.

"Problem?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"Blonde bombshells? Really?" Brittany teased.

Sam splashed water in her face. "Hey, don't hate."

Brittany splashed him back and soon they were having a full on water fight, with everyone joining in. Mike lifted Tina up from behind and threatened to dunk her under, she squealed and flailed her arms until he turned her in his arms and kissed her cutely. Blaine and Kurt cowered by the side of the pool, covering each other's hair with their hands. Kurt let out a squeal as a sprinkle of water shot over his way. Finn and Rachel actually made quite a team. Rachel was on Finns back with her legs wrapped tightly around his stomach. She had a look of menace on her face as she pointed to different people in the pool and Finn would follow his orders to go and dunk the person. It was easy for him, he was a massive oaf. Mercedes was sitting at the side of the pool laughing like she was on crack and Sugar kept trying to splash the others but only managing to drench herself.

Brittany noticed Santana quietly making her way to side of the pool, attempting to get out before anyone noticed her. Brittany dove under the water and swam over to her as fast as she could, within seconds she was just behind Santana toned legs. Deciding to take the opportunity, Brittany gently grabbed Santana by the ankles and slid her hands up smooth legs. When she got to Santana's hips, she slipped her hands forward to brush the length of bikini material up to the Latina's stomach. Still underwater, Brittany couldn't see Santana's face but she guessed by now the girl knew exactly who was swimming down below, in between her legs.

Santana's legs tensed as she felt Brittany touch her _there. _However lightly and however briefly, she still touched her there. Santana's stomach squeezed and flipped twice. She knew it was Brittany because she could see blonde hair beneath her, although it was almost impossible to make out her face with the water sloshing all around them like it was.

Brittany pulled herself through Santana's legs and slowly rose to the surface, her face only inches from black bikini clad body. When she popped through the top, Santana was staring at her questioningly. Brittany merely returned the suggestive wink before spitting a mouthful of water at the Latina. Due to Santana's boxing reflexes she managed to dodge the stream but a few drops landed on her shoulder.

"What was that for?" Santana asked in disbelief.

Brittany shrugged and Santana lunged forward, grabbing the blonde by the waist and pushing her back and under the water. Brittany squirmed and struggled before Santana let her free. Brittany gasped as she came to the surface and pounced on Santana.

"No!" Santana screamed before being dragged under. In the protection and privacy of the water the two girls wrestled with each other, desperately trying to get the upper hand. Brittany's hands were all over Santana's stomach as she pushed her towards the pool bottom and Santana's hands were all over Brittany's back as she clung to her and brought the blonde down with her. They only broke apart when they desperately needed air and broke through the surface giggling.

For the next hour the group had water fights, played games and had bomb and diving competitions. Finn got out to cook the burger patties and Rachel and Tina got out to help Quinn prepare the buns and Salads. When dinner was ready Puck brought out some beers and put some light music through the outdoor speaker system.

Brittany hungrily bit into her burger, all the swimming making her hungrier than she thought. Every one settled into different conversations as dinner went on. One thing Brittany noticed and loved about the group was that there weren't cliques within the group. Everyone talked to everyone. Brittany noticed it in her own conversations because she had talked with literally every single person this night alone.

Mike and Quinn were currently talking to her about their high school experience. It was really interesting but Brittany's ears pricked up even more when Santana was mentioned in their high school stories. Brittany looked over to where Santana was talking to Kurt and Mercedes's and was surprised to find that Santana was already staring back at her. Santana's cheeks tinged red at the fact that she'd been snapped staring and she looked down at her plate. Brittany thought it was just about the cutest thing ever. And when Santana peaked up at her from under her thick eye lashes she was met with a warm smile from a swooning Brittany.

After dinner and surprisingly dishes done by the boys, the real alcohol was brought out, spirits lined up on the table.

"A shot to start everyone off!" Puck declared and filled up countless shot glasses with straight vodka. Brittany refused the shot that was handed to her.

"I think I'll stay sober so there's someone to clean you all up when you wreck yourselves." Brittany rolled her eyes. "Plus we don't want anyone drowning."

"I'll stay on the wagon too." Santana declared.

"You sure?" Puck asked

"Yup." The girls answered in sync

Puck shrugged. "Right then, bombs away!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was well past midnight and Brittany and Santana we enjoying the show that the drunks were putting on. Some like Tina, Mike, Kurt and Blaine had taken the night pretty easy and even gone to bed. Some were hammered and it was very fun to watch.

"Sam, I'm serious man. I love you. I love you like a fat kid loves fried chicken." Puck slurred.

Sam laughed so hard he fell off his seat.

Rachel got up from her seat suddenly and knelt next to the pool, tipping her head over the side.

"Rach," Finn started.

"It's okay!" Rachel interrupted. "I'm just smelling the pool."

This caused another bout of laughter from Mercedes and Sam.

"Maybe that's enough for you Rachel?" Finn asked. Luckily he was still pretty sober. "We have to practice tomorrow remember."

With the mention of practice Rachel lifted her head and attempted to stand up. Finn caught his wobbling girlfriend and started to lead her inside. Rachel gladly walked off inside happily singing the Barney theme tune.

"Look at them all. Isn't it sad?" Santana joked to Brittany.

The group of drunks were trying to compose their own song using objects around the table. Sam was poorly making a beat with two beer bottles and a corn chip while Mercedes and Artie clapped out of time and hummed the tune to two completely different songs. Quinn tried to make a beat over top of Sam's with a fork and an uneaten burger but only managed to get beef patty in her eye. Sugar just swayed and held up her hands, looking somewhat possessed.

"A little sad." Brittany admitted with a laugh. "Is it true you have to practice tomorrow?"

Santana nodded, keeping her eyes trained on the messy bunch.

"Maybe we should get them to bed then, I mean it's almost two."

"Mmkay." Santana stood up. "Oi, losers, bed time."

There was some grumbling but mostly shrugs of shoulders as the girls and guys made their way to the house. Brittany and Santana herded the group up through stairs and into rooms, making sure they were comfortable and tucking them up in bed. Santana would never admit it but she was guilty of placing a kiss on Sugar's forehead when she pulled up her covers and said good night.

Finally, Santana and Brittany met back in Brittany's room, slightly tired from mothering their friends.

Brittany stepped through her ranch sliders and onto her deck, avoiding the chairs and sitting down on the cool wood and motioned for Santana to sit next to her. Santana did just that, pushing the side of her body flush against Brittany.

"This has been a great day." Santana smiled.

"It has," Brittany agreed. "I almost don't want it to end."

"Me too. I've had too much fun."

"It's almost like a dream for me. I can't believe I've meet you guys. You're all so amazing and you let me in so easily."

"You're a part of us now." Santana spoke and then moved back to sit against the glass door, pulling Brittany back gently by the shoulders so the blonde's head was in her lap. Brittany smiled affectionately up at Santana.

"San, I noticed something."

"Hmm, what's that?" Santana asked, tracing Brittany's hairline with her index finger.

"When everyone else saw this house they kind of freaked out a little and then after they seemed so…excited to know me or something, I don't really know. You were so relaxed about the whole thing and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that you reacted that way but I'm wondering why?"

"Because I would like you just the same if your family had all the money in the world or no money at all. The others aren't fickle or shallow but coming from Lima, most of us didn't really have a lot of money so it's just a nice surprise I guess and something we're not all used to." Santana said thoughtfully, running her fingers over Brittany's shoulders.

"You know that once the excitement wears off a bit and they think about it a little, they're going to ask you who your parents are and what they do." Santana continued, knowing it was a sensitive subject for some reason.

"I know. Aren't you curious too?"

"No matter who they are or what they do, it won't influence how much I like you. So, no I'm not overly curious." Santana laughed. "And I'm happy to learn about them when everyone else does."

Brittany knew what Santana was doing. She was putting off that particular conversation so they didn't ruin this perfect moment, because this moment was about them and nobody else.

"Okay." Brittany said quietly.

"Question game?" Santana asked

"Yes!" Brittany said happily

"Hmm, celebrity crush?"

"Oh man, that's hard." Brittany pondered for a second. "Sam mentioned Jessica Alba not long ago and forced me to watch 'into the blue' with him. She rocks a bikini almost as good as you so I'd have to say her right now."

Santana laughed at the wink Brittany threw in at the end.

"oooh, have you ever thought about any of the girls in the group in a sexual way?" Brittany asked cheekily.

Santana looked up away from Brittany and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You have!" Brittany gasped.

Santana's cheeks burned red and she pouted.

"Aw, San. It's okay, perfectly normal." Brittany cooed. "But you have to tell me who it was."

"No…" Santana whined.

"San, come on. It doesn't matter…unless I have some competition?"

"No! God, no." Santana shook her head. "It was when we just moved to New York and Um…Quinn…um…Quinn came out wearing really, _really _short boy short boxers and it was one time, okay. One time." Santana said adamantly.

"I don't blame you. Quinn's hot." Brittany grinned.

"So here's a question," Santana leaned down to place a soft kiss on Brittany's pink lips before continuing. "Quinn, Jessica Alba and Megan Fox. You have to marry one, have sex with one and kill one. How's it gonna go?" Santana laughed.

"I only want to have sex with you." Brittany said honestly, completely avoiding the question.

Santana closed her eyes, knowing there was something she had to tell Brittany.

"Britt, I have a confession." Santana sighed as she dragged her fingers through Brittany's impossibly silky hair. Brittany tilted her head up from Santana's lap.

"What is it?"

Brittany's legs stretched out on the deck in front of them, her tanned legs momentarily distracting Santana.

"San?"

"What? Oh right, sorry."

Brittany sat up and swivelled so her crossed knees were pressed against Santana's. The blonde was getting a little worried now. Santana had a pained look on her face as she looked at her hands in her lap.

"San, you're scaring me."

"It's just, I can't-" Santana took a deep breath. "I've never-"

She stopped and ran a hand through her own hair, getting frustrated with her apparent lack of vocabulary. Santana looked up at Brittany and instantly felt guilty. Brittany's eyes were wide and she was obviously holding her breath.

"Britt, don't worry it's nothing bad. Actually it is kind of."

Brittany let out her breath but waited silently.

"I know I talk a good game," Santana started, looking back down at her lap. "I flirt and I'm pretty sexual I guess. I know what to say and how to act but the truth is I...I've never…"

Santana looked up hoping Brittany would understand.

She didn't.

"You've never?" Brittany prompted with a small smile.

"You're really gonna make me say it?"

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about so yes." Brittany said, smiling a little wider.

"But, what if you don't like me anymore cause of it."

"Not possible."

"But what if-"

"Not. Possible." Brittany said a little more forcefully.

Santana blew out a breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I've never had sex with a girl."

"That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it?" Santana asked exasperated. "I don't know how to manage other lady plumbing."

Brittany laughed. "Then you'll learn, if you want to."

"You really don't care?"

"Of course not. There's more to someone than what they can do in the bedroom."

"What if I'm shit?"

"You won't be. There's no way."

"How do you know?"

"I'll show you, when you're ready." Brittany winked.

"I'm sorry." Santana shook her head. "I want to, so bad. But I just need a little more time before _that_."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Besides, you know there are other things between making out and sex, right?" Brittany laughed. "I mean, if you didn't want to go straight to home plate, there are other bases."

Santana grinned so big her little dimples showed.

"You like that idea?"

Santana nodded furiously.

"Come here." Brittany motioned towards herself and Santana moved forward to sit in Brittany's lap, wrapping her legs around her back.

"I love your eyes." Santana said.

It was no secret that Brittany had amazingly coloured eyes that set her out from a crowd.

"I love yours." Brittany smiled.

"No you don't. They're plain and boring."

"Yes, I do. They're amazing. They're big, brown and beautiful. You can totally pull off the whole puppy eyes look you know."

Santana smiled and lowered herself further into Brittany's lap. Brittany could see straight into her eyes then. They were so warm. She felt her stomach tingle in anticipation.

"So, has being this charming always worked for you?"

"Yup." Brittany grinned.

Santana smiled a beautiful crooked smile and leaned in to place her lips on Brittany's. Brittany hummed approvingly and wrapped her arms around the girl in her lap. Santana deepened the kiss and gently coaxed her sweet tongue into Brittany's awaiting mouth. Brittany's body went into over drive with the feeling of Santana's silky tongue rubbing against her own.

Brittany was immensely grateful in that moment that she wasn't a guy, because with Santana in her lap and the hormones and blood gushing through her body to one certain area, that could have been a pretty awkward situation.

Santana moaned as Brittany's tongue skimmed against hers and she thread her fingers through blonde hair. Santana had never felt this good kissing anyone, ever. It was like every time their lips were connected, she melted inside. Brittany's hands were like warm sparks that both electrified her and soother her at the same time.

Brittany sucked Santana's bottom lip into her mouth enticing a sharp breath from the Latin. Brittany giggled softly and placed a soft kiss on Santana cheek before moving down to her jaw and gliding her warm lips down Santana's jaw line. She stopped below Santana's ear to kiss the soft skin there. She could feel Santana's rapid pulse and was glad she wasn't the only one getting excited.

"Oh." Santana gasped when Brittany's tongue came out to lick down her neck. Santana's hands massaged Brittany's scalp softly while the blonde hoisted her up to kiss her neck and collar bone.

"Britt…" Santana breathed.

"Yeah baby?" Brittany looked up with hooded eyes.

Santana tried to hold back a manic grin at the fact that Brittany had just called her 'baby.'

"What're you smiling so big for?" Brittany asked, a grin making its way to her own face.

Santana just shook her head and played with the hem of Brittany's tank top.

Brittany moved her hands to rest on Santana's stomach. "Can I take your shirt off?"

Santana bit the inside of her lip and nodded. "You're sure?" Brittany asked

"I want you to."

Brittany slid her hands under the edge of Santana's flimsy tank and pulled up. Santana assisted by lifting her arms. The white material slipped easily over the Latina's silky skin and when it was off Brittany had the pleasure of the fine view of Santana's lacy purple bra.

Brittany had seen Santana in a bikini and bra before but this was different. This wasn't a game or a bet. This was a real as ever. Brittany's heart hammered in her chest as she took in Santana's taut stomach and v cut hips.

Without a word Santana took Brittany's shirt and bunched it in her hands. She waited a second until Brittany raised her arms and Santana slipped the shirt up over her head and dropped it to the side.

Santana's eyes darkened with the sight of Brittany's smooth stomach and chest. She reached out to run a hand over Brittany's ribs, silently counting them one by one.

"Santana." Brittany gently whispered.

"Huh?"

Brittany chucked softly. "Is this okay?"

Santana looked up at Brittany's face, her eyes were questioning.

Santana moved forward to press her front against the blondes, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"I'm gonna take this off, kay?" Santana whispered, rubbing her fingers along Brittany's bikini strap.

Brittany gulped and shuddered. "Okay."

Santana used her nimble fingers to undo Brittany's Bikini knot. When it was undone, she pulled back to see Brittany's face while pulling the material from her body.

Santana forced herself to keep eye contact while she dropped the material beside them. After that, she was at a loss for what to do.

"San?"

"Yup."

"You can look." Brittany laughed.

So with a deep breath Santana looked down at Brittany bare chest.

"Wow." Santana breathed out, a smile coming to her lips. "Britt, you're beautiful."

"Here," Brittany reached out and grabbed Santana's hand, pulled it towards her body and placed Santana's hand over her left breast. At first Santana was frozen in shock, not moving her hand in the slightest. But after Brittany leaned forward to plant a kiss onto parted lips, Santana loosened up and dared to experiment.

She moved her fingers to massage Brittany's breast and when she felt bolder, she took the nipple between her fingers and played with it, felling it go hard under her touch. The grin on her face resembled that of a five year old that had just discovered candy.

Brittany let out a throaty groan and Santana's grin grew. She couldn't believe she was actually having an effect. This incredible effect.

Brittany threw her head back, enjoying the sensations Santana was creating. It was so amazing but she felt selfish. She wanted Santana to feel this and experience this too.

"San," Brittany started, moving her hands around to Santana's back. San looked up and seemed to understand what Brittany was asking.

With a smile Santana nodded.

"I can?" Brittany confirmed.

"Yeah, you can." Santana smirked and leaned in to kiss Brittany sweetly.

Brittany easily undid Santana's bra while still kissing her and let the straps fall down over her shoulders so she could shrug it off when she was ready.

After a while longer Santana pulled back and didn't hesitate from slipping off the purple material.

Brittany looked at the exposed flesh and unknowingly bit her lip. "Damn girl."

Santana laughed and pushed her shoulder playfully.

"San, you have amazing boobs, seriously." Brittany said, looking at Santana's chest hungrily.

"You can touch." Santana smirked.

"Really?" Brittany asked excitedly.

"Of course."

Brittany eagerly palmed Santana's breasts, taking in the softness and fullness of them. Without even thinking about it, she leaned in and kissed them both.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking-"

"Britt, don't worry so much about overstepping the line, okay. I want to do stuff with you."

Brittany didn't look so reassured. "I don't want to pressure you."

"You're not! You have no idea how much I want this."

"I think I have some idea." Brittany smirked.

"Do it again." Santana commanded.

Brittany slowly pulled Santana closer by the hips so she could plant soft kisses all over Santana's chest. She heard the Latina sigh contently and smiled against warm skin. Not only did Santana look and feel amazing, she smelt and tasted almost better. She smelted like rich body wash. A mix of vanilla and coconut with her natural sweet scent. Brittany couldn't get enough.

When Brittany's mouth hooked onto her nipple Santana's legs tightened aground the blondes back, her muscles quivering from the sensation of Brittany's skilful tongue.

Brittany abruptly stopped and looked up with a flushed face. "If I don't stop now, I won't be able to at all." She said huskily.

Santana managed a nod. She was disappointed, yes, but she completely believed Brittany and she just wasn't quite ready to go all the way tonight.

"Bed?" Brittany asked.

Overthinking the simple question, Santana's eyes went wide.

"Not like that!" Brittany laughed.

Santana rolled her eyes and moved from Brittany's lap and opened the ranch slider. The house was quiet with everyone either having passed out from drinking or sleeping from having gone to bed earlier.

Santana slipped her shorts off and slipped into Brittany's bed. Brittany watched from the door and couldn't control the rush she got from seeing the most beautiful girl she had ever meet strip down and get into _her_ bed. With a crazy grin, Brittany pushed off her denim cut offs and followed Santana. Even though it was a double, Santana seemed to think otherwise with the way she moulded herself to Brittany like there was no room what so ever.

"What was your first time with a girl like?" Santana asked before kissing Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany hummed in thought. "It was awkward and quick. Really quick." Brittany laughed. "I was only sixteen and I didn't really want to be doing it."

"What?" Santana looked up concerned. "Why didn't you want to be doing it?"

Brittany shrugged. "The girl was just using me to get off."

"Bitch." Santana growled angrily. "How did you, you know, know what to do?"

Brittany shrugged again. "I didn't really. I guess it doesn't matter what you do if the person really wants you. Or really wants to get off."

Santana nodded.

"That's why I know you'll be great. I want you so much that even when you touch me in the most innocent way, I get tingles." Brittany admitted.

"Me too."

"Really?" Brittany asked excitedly.

"Mhmm. It's kinda crazy actually." Santana chuckled.

"Then you have nothing to worry about okay?" Brittany tugged Santana closer and revelled in the feeling of their bare chests pressing together.

"That night when we were playing strip poker I said we should wait because I didn't want to ruin anything. But I'm sure now that nothing could ruin this, whatever this is. I just know that on top of everything, you're my best friend." Brittany smiled.

"Your my best friend too Britt Britt." Santana sighed.

Brittany smiled gratefully and snuggled into Santana more. Even though it was summer and the night was hot, she couldn't get enough of Santana's warmth.

Brittany's breathing slowed and settled into a steady rhythm. Santana assumed she was asleep and daringly brushed the back of her hand across her breast.

"Santana Lopez,"

Busted.

Brittany opened her eyes to find Santana's flushed face and red tinged cheeks.

"Kidding," Brittany smiled. "they're yours to touch."

Santana sighed in relief.

"I thought you were mad."

"Quite the opposite." Brittany said suggestively.

Santana grinned and placed a chaste kiss on the blonde's lips before settling into her pillow.

All of a sudden Brittany started giggling softly and looking mighty proud of herself. After a couple of seconds, the giggling was replaced with the biggest smirk Santana had ever seen on Brittany's face.

"What's with the mega smirk ?" Santana asked.

Brittany shook her head almost in disbelief.

"I just got to second base with Santana Lopez."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**First off thank you to anyone who reads and reviews my story. The encouragement is so much appreciated because I am such a rookie with this whole writing thing, and still fairly young so I'm just sort of having a crack. I've noticed a couple people saying to get a beta for my story and I did start out with one but the truth is I'm doing this for fun. It isn't one of those hard out, intense stories that requires a beta and analysing, it just is. If you have a problem with that, I'm sorry but that's probably the way it will stay for now.**

**And also, having music in this story sets the theme. It's there for a reason and to get good music recognised by the readers. I'm not trying to 'fill the chapters with song lyrics'. The lyrics are the meaning, they are the story. I grew up with music, with MJ, Marley and The beetles. Music is a HUGE part of my life and so it will be the same in my story :) **

**So the links for Carter and Morgan pics didn't work huh? Let's say then that Morgan looks like a young Mandy Musgrave when she had dark brown hair and with greyer eyes and Carter is kind of like a young, innocent Indianna Evans, well that's how I see those two in my head anyway.**

**If you want another good read, check out 'No Place else' by ****Lumos-Nox-Obliviate****.**** It's the girls in boarding school…you know you wanna see what happens there. Say I sent you!**

**As for Brittana semi sexy times…let's just not even..ugh that was strange to write. But it's cool, it's for the good of the story.**

**Love you long time. **


	15. Shower time

Chapter 15: Shower time

Brittany yawned and stretched out her legs and arms as she woke up. Morning light was streaming through her window, flooding her bed in heavy warmth. The previous night with Santana came rushing to the forefront of her mind and she felt herself smiling. Instinctively, Brittany reached out her hand but found that the bed was empty.

A frown creased Brittany's forehead and she felt her stomach drop a little. Quickly shoving on shorts and a shirt Brittany hurried downstairs, anxious to see Santana. She was worried. What if Santana had regretted everything they did last night or was freaked out. What if she'd come on too strong.

Brittany pulled her hair back in a messy pony tail, and bounded down the steps towards the kitchen. Looking at a clock on the wall Brittany found that it was just gone nine.

Entering the kitchen, Brittany had to laugh. Quinn and Rachel were sat at the kitchen both with very large shades on.

"Feeling a little worse for wear are we girls?" Brittany asked

"Why are you yelling?" Rachel scolded.

Brittany chuckled softly, feeling sympathy for Rachel and her hang over.

"I'm never drinking again." Quinn whined.

"Do you guys know where Santana is?" Brittany asked quietly.

"Seriously, with the yelling." Rachel yell- whispered.

Quinn just shrugged and Brittany mouthed 'sorry' at Rachel who waved her hand dismissively and popped a couple of aspirins.

Brittany decided to check the gym, feeling she had a good chance of finding Santana there.

She was right.

She heard them before she saw them. The grunting, groaning and moaning from a deep male voice while Santana's raspy one carried over top.

"You gonna stop now? Come on, my Abuela could lift more than you, what is this?" Santana spat out.

Brittany rounded the corner to catch Puck doing three good reps with a massive amount of weights.

" 'atta boy." Santana praised.

Brittany leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms to watch the interaction.

"Your turn." Puck chuckled.

"Try and break me." Santana challenged.

"Pull ups, let's go."

"How many?" Santana asked as she stepped up to the bar Brittany's dad had installed when he went through his 'gym' stage. Neither Puck nor Santana had noticed her yet.

"Ten. Full extension."

Santana jumped and caught the silver bar, pulling up her body until her chin was above the bar. With a hiss she lowered down until her arms were completely straight and did the same again, pulling up, lowering down. Brittany's eyebrows rose as she watched the girl work, her shoulder muscles standing out against tanned skin. Santana pumped her arms and grunted her way through the ten pull ups, jumping off with a satisfied smirk.

"If you really wanted a work out, you'd do three more." Puck laughed.

Without a second thought Santana jumped up to the bar and roughly pulled up her body, a low grunt echoing through the room. After three more strenuous pull ups and a great deal of swearing Santana dropped off the bar and placed her hands on her knees, catching her breath.

"Tired?" Puck mocked.

"I hate your face." Santana growled, only half serious.

Brittany watched as a bead of sweat ran a smooth course from Santana's temple down to her chin before the girl wiped it away. Puck looked up and noticed Brittany hovering in the doorway and grinned.

"Come for a work out?" He asked.

Brittany watched as Santana followed Pucks line of sight right to her, a beaming smile making its way to her face.

"Thought I'd come and give boxer girl a run for her money." Brittany joked.

Santana's smile turned into a full grin. One that made the sides if her eyes crinkle and little concave indents to appear on her cheeks. Brittany loved those dimples. So damn much. Santana was sweaty from her work out, a light sheen of moisture coating her collarbone and chest. Brittany forced her eyes away from that area for fear of being caught leering. She did however allow herself to think that this was quite possible the sexiest Santana had ever looked. Her hair mused, her body sweaty, her muscles pumped up and her cheeks slightly red from exercise.

"Come on." Santana motioned her over. "You ever done weights?"

After a good half hour of several sets and countless reps of weights, Sam had joined the trio and they had had one of the best work outs Brittany could remember having. They did circuits with everything from resistance training to cardio and Brittany was half dead by the end of it.

Brittany lay on the floor with her arms stretched out, breathing in deep breaths. Santana wondered over and copied her movements. Brittany vaguely heard the boys leaving the gym room but was really only focused on slowing her heart rate.

"You're really fit." Santana wheezed out.

"Not as fit as you guys."

"That was an intense work out and you more than kept up." Santana said with a slight shake of her head.

Brittany sat up and pulled the bottom of her shirt up to wipe her brow. When she let go of the fabric she saw that Santana had been blatantly staring at her exposed stomach. Santana blushed and looked away when she realised she'd been snapped.

"How about a swim to cool off?" Brittany suggested.

Santana jumped up at the idea but winced at her sore muscles.

"Race you." Brittany challenged before sprinting to the door. Santana's sore muscles were forgotten as she bolted to chase Brittany up the stairs.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Brittany." Mike smiled.

Brittany swallowed a bite of her sandwich. "Hey!"

"Do you want to practice our routine?"

Brittany dusted off her fingers on the towel draped around her waist and looked at Santana who was standing behind the kitchen sink rinsing some plates from lunch.

"Sure, let me get changed first."

"Cool, where would be best to practice?"

"In the dining room, we can push the table back. The floor's wood in there so that's probably best."

"I'll go get it ready." Mike smiled and walked towards the room, humming happily as he went.

Santana grabbed one of Quinn's books that were stacked on the breakfast counter and started walking towards the pool.

"Have fun." Santana smiled sweetly and jabbed Brittany's stomach playfully.

Brittany nodded with a smile and watched Santana step through the sliding glass door. Santana's hips swayed casually as she moved to sit next to Tina by the pool. Brittany's gaze lowered down over Santana's perfectly toned butt and legs, Brittany remembered her own legs brushing up against those legs when they had been lying in bed together. She shivered at the thought. When Brittany realised that just watching Santana was getting her worked up, she darted to her room to get changed into dancing gear.

When Brittany made her way into the dining room, she saw that Mike had made the perfect area for them to practice. Brittany remembered all the times she had practiced by herself in this much too large, much too perfect dining room. It felt nice to have a partner.

Mike put his IPod in the dock he brought in from the kitchen and started playing their performance song. Brittany felt her body moving into position before her mind could even register it. They ran through the routine slowly first, warming up their muscles and exaggerating some stretches after. They laughed at each other's eagerness to finish up the warm up and get to the good stuff.

When they both felt warm and loose enough, Mike restarted the song and as a pair they started their routine again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Have you seen Brittany dance before?"

Santana looked up from her book across at Tina.

"Not really," Santana shook her head.

"You said that they were practicing right? Brittany and Mike?"

Santana nodded and looked towards the house.

Tina stood up smiling, "I've seen their routine when I picked Mike up for lunch one day, you_ have_ to check it out."

Santana stood all too quickly to follow Tina.

Tina crept along past the kitchen with Santana close behind. The big sliding doors leading into the dining room were pulled shut but Santana could hear music pulsing from behind them. Tina slowly slid the doors apart enough to be able to look through. Santana hesitated for a second, not wanting to intrude on Brittany's privacy. Her hesitation was cut short when Tina grabbed her wrist and dragged her forward. Santana stumbled and had to grip Tina's shoulders for support. When she gained her balance and looked up through the small gap in the doors her whole word stopped.

Brittany spun away from Mike in one fluid motion, her hair flowed softly, framing her delicate face, and her entire body looked like it was filled with water as she flowed into her next move. Santana was aware that Mike was doing the same moves but honesty, Brittany was the only one she had eyes for.

Brittany's body moved at impossible angles and she made it look effortless. Her muscles rippled and her feet floated. The look of pure concentration and determination in her eyes was something Santana had never seen before. Something that made her heart pound madly. Something that made her stomach twist and turn in the most exciting way.

Santana had unconsciously been moving forward, closer to the blonde beauty and much too late she realised that her balance was gone when she tumbled forward, pushing the sliding doors open in the process. Tina grunted as she fell over her shoulder and Santana awkwardly hit the ground with 'oof'.

Brittany and Mike stopped their routine and looked at the pair with amused smirks.

"Oh, hey." Santana tried, looking surprised to see them.

"We were just…"Tina started, looking at Santana to finish.

Santana glared back. "We were just, ah, looking for…"

"Dried fruit."

"_Dried fruit_?" Santana said through clenched teeth, "Really?"

Brittany and Mike, crossed their arms and Brittany cocked her hip.

"You weren't spying?" Brittany smirked

Santana stood up from the floor and Tina followed.

"No, I don't think so." Santana said, looking at Tina for conformation.

"Nope, just looking for dried fruit." Tina smiled before Santana elbowed her in the ribs.

"Dried fruit for?"

"Raisin loaf?"

"To throw at Rachel."

Santana and Tina narrowed their eyes at each other.

"Worst liars in the history of ever." Brittany accused, pointing at the two.

Santana looked down, actually looking a little ashamed.

"Aw, come on, can you blame us for wanting to watch your routine?" Tina asked.

"It's not finished yet." Mike said with a smile, looking at his girlfriend.

Santana scuffed her shoe shyly on the floor and Brittany pulled her lips into her mouth to keep from smiling too big.

"I think we should give them a preview." Brittany said, looking at Mike. "Tina's seen half of it already anyway.

"Good idea." Mike said with wink.

Santana and Tina scurried into the room like the naughty little kids they were.

"Sit right here." Mike chuckled picking Tina up and placing her on the table that had been pushed out of the way.

Brittany couldn't resist a look over to Santana. She wondered if she was wishing they could act in that way towards each other in front of other people too.

Mike pressed play and joined Brittany in the middle of the room, his arms coming up around her. Santana's insides clenched in jealously. All of a sudden she realised that maybe this dance would be harder to watch that she first realised.

Santana recognised the song instantly; it had been all over the radio for a good few months. First of the year by Skrillex blasted through the room and Santana leaned back on her hands to watch the show. The opening bars were soft, with maybe some saxophone holding the tune, when the strange, mangled lyrics came in was when Brittany and Mike started moving together.

At first he held her close and swayed to beat. They moved in perfect synchronization, it was such a simple move but so captivating. Brittany spun out and Mike brought her back in close. They started doing some kind of ballroom dance then, moving around the room with perfect steps and matching smiles. Mike led Brittany with a confidence Santana knew was always with him when he danced.

They actually looked like a couple and it made Santana's skin prickle.

Mike spun Brittany a few times, her form in the air was flawless and fearless. The music's tempo started to drop off into an eerie pace with creepy piano playing lightly in the background.

"Remember, it's all for show." Tina whispered in her ear.

Santana looked at Tina confused at the comment, her heart rate picking up at the fact that maybe Tina knew something she shouldn't.

Tina nodded her head in the direction of the dancers and Santana slowly turned her head back. Within the next few moves Santana noticed that Mike was getting a little rougher. He griped Brittany's wrists harder, he wasn't placing her down softly like at the beginning of the song and he seemed to be forcing her closer to him, almost like…

Santana knew she was right when Brittany shoved him away after he spun her particularly hard into his body. Santana instinctively moved forward but felt a hand on her shoulder. Tina didn't even look at her, just watched on.

Mike became even more aggressive after that and Brittany seemed to shrink into herself. Santana watched with big eyes as the ordeal played out. Suddenly the music mounted to a small climax and Brittany shot forward towards Tina and Santana, her body leaning towards them with Mike keeping a hold of her by the wrists from behind.

When Brittany screamed out "CALL 911, NOW!" along with the music, Santana's fists clenched and she bit down on her lip. The protective urge that smashed over her in a massive, angry wave was almost too much to handle. If it hadn't been for Tina's reassuring hand on her shoulder, she's not certain she wouldn't have got up and got Brittany out of there.

"It's just a dance." Santana repeated in her head over and over.

The routine only got more violent from there. The subtle hints of assault in the first movement of the song turned into full blown abuse. Santana watched in horror as Mike laid into Brittany with incredible displays of dance and fighting moves. It was so real that Santana's seriously feared for Brittany's safety.

_It's dance. Just a dance._

The thick heavy beat thumped right through Santana and she felt goose bumps rise on the back of her neck. Brittany was slammed to the floor and the creepy piano returned. Mike loomed over Brittany's body menacingly and Santana watched in awe to see her next move.

Brittany rose from the ground, arching her back and using her core muscles to pull up the weight of her body. As she rose, Mike stepped back, looking slightly fearful of the broken goddess rising before him.

As they game face to face, the tension in the room intensified. They both stood stone still for a beat, waiting.

The music amped up again and a distraught 'CALL 911, NOW!' rang through the music.

Brittany clicked out of her static pose and smacked into Mike who flew back across the room.

Santana and Tina both gasped.

Brittany figure took on a new powerful stance and it was obvious to see the roles had been reversed. It was like the dance was a story. A passionate story that mesmerised the viewer with every single move.

Brittany started moving her limbs at an incredible pace, Mike matched her for a bit before he dropped off and was seemingly knocked down by the flick of Brittany's wrist. Brittany's body seemed to gain height or presence, or both as she danced soulfully in front of Mike. Santana's head fell to the side as she watched. No longer scared or worried for Brittany, just completely enchanted by her.

When Brittany started so move as if in slow motion Santana's jaw dropped. It felt like she was in a movie. Brittany's fist brushed past Mike's head and back again, as if in reverse. Santana found herself on the edge of her seat again, although for an entirely different reason. The dance was amazing, so unpredictable and edgy.

The fact that Brittany was now the one doing the beating up was even turning her on a little bit. What? She had a kink for dominance.

About three quarters through the song Brittany and Mike both stopped and it was clear that was how far they had gotten in choreographing the dance.

Santana and Tina looked at each other with looks of awe.

"Was is alright?" Brittany asked.

If it was anyone else Santana would have thought they were fishing for a compliment but Brittany looked so genuine. She really did care about the opinions of her and Tina.

"That was.." Santana shook her head, not finding the right words.

"It was fantastic. You guys are going to get a great grade." Tina finished.

Santana nodded along but couldn't stop herself from asking, "Does it hurt?"

"What?" Brittany asked, head tilted.

"When Mike grabs you and hits you and stuff."

"No way, it's all choreographed for effect. The fact that you're asking that is a good sign."

"I would never hurt Brittany on purpose." Mike said sincerely.

Santana smiled, "I know Mikey. So, is your dance like, a story?"

"Sort of. It's about abuse, obviously but also that two wrongs don't make a right." Brittany said thoughtfully.

Santana nodded in understanding. "Well, it was great. Very intense."

"I think you were worried about Brittany." Tina chuckled and poked Santana's side.

"You were?"

"Hm? No, Tina's a chronic liar, pay no attention."

Brittany raked her teeth over her lip before smiling.

"Call it a day?" Mike asked

Brittany smiled and gave him a fist bump. "It's looking better every time."

Mike agreed and pulled Tina from the room to go swim in the pool. Brittany took a swig of water and wiped her brow.

"Britt, you're insanely good. I mean, I knew you were good, but not that good." Santana gushed.

"I'm not that good." Brittany shrugged.

"You made me believe you were getting the beat down. Then you made me believe you were giving the beat down." Santana laughed. "That routine is so…"

"Dark?"

"Yeah."

"Frightening?"

"That too."

"Thought provoking?"

"Definitely."

Brittany seemed to breathe a sigh of release. "That's good."

"Is a lot riding on this performance?"

"A fair bit of my grade, yeah."

"You'll kill it." Santana stepped up to Brittany and tugged on her shirt bashfully. "You can do anything."

"San, you don't know how much it means for you to say that." Brittany's eyes were so sincere Santana was sure she nearly melted because of them.

Santana looked around the empty dining room before facing Brittany.

"Have a shower with me." Santana said firmly.

Brittany cocked an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"_Just_ a shower." Santana confirmed with a playful smile.

"What if someone comes looking for us?"

"Please, they're too engrossed in themselves so bother thinking about us."

Brittany thought about this for a second before shrugging. "Okay, I'm game."

"This isn't a game, Britt." Santana said with a laugh.

"Damn, I was planning on scoring though." Brittany said in mock disappointment but with a cheeky grin none the less.

Santana laughed and poked the other girl in the stomach lightly. "Aren't you full of innuendos?"

"You seem to inspire it in me."

Santana bit her lip and let her eyes wonder over the blonde's body. "You inspire some crazy things in me too."

Brittany pounced on the smaller girl, turning her around and picking her up to take her into the bathroom. Santana laughed and wriggled but Brittany held fast, taking her right into the shower before setting her down gently on the white shower floor.

Santana turned on the nozzle and soon warm water was cascading down around them, capturing them in a blissful cage of steam and lovely smelling shampoo's. Brittany hummed happily and reached forward to pull Santana's hair out from her ponytail. Once free, she ran her fingers through it, marvelling at how soft it was.

"This one?" Brittany asked, holding up Santana's shampoo.

Santana nodded slowly and watched in awe as Brittany squeezed the white goo into her hand and moved her hands up to dark hair. Gently, Brittany coaxed the shampoo from her hands into Santana's hair. She smoothed it down from the roots right to the tips, massaging as she went.

Santana's eyes fluttered closed at the sensation, unconsciously stepping forward. Brittany smiled and continued the soothing motion with her hands, rubbing the coconut shampoo into Santana's hair and revelling in the feeling of the girl's hands flat on her stomach.

Brittany played around a bit, trying to make a Mohawk with Santana's white foamy hair and earning a delicious laugh in the process. Brittany begged Santana to impersonate Puck until she gave in and out on a deep voice saying something about chicken and scratching her non-existent balls.

Brittany laughed so hard she had to hold the shower wall for support. Santana swiped her Shampoo and copied Brittany, squeezing a good amount onto her hand before putting it through Brittany's hair. Santana spent more time giving Brittany pretend beards with the shampoo foam than anything else. After Brittany washed out her hair in the steady stream of water she grabbed the summer fruits body wash looked at Santana questioningly.

Santana striped off her bikini top but left the bottoms on and so Brittany did the same, gratefully pulling her tight, wet sports bra from her body. Flicking off the cap Brittany poured some peachy coloured stuff into both her and Santana's hand with a smile.

Brittany could tell that Santana was more confident than the night before by the way she moved her hands over Brittany's stomach. It wasn't hesitant, it was purposeful. If Brittany didn't know any better she would say that Santana was solely focused on getting her clean. But Brittany knew better.

Brittany's own hands travelled effortlessly over Santana's body, creating pleasant soapy foam in their wake. Brittany moved over Santana's shoulders and was just dipping down the sides of her arms when she felt two hands slide down over her breasts, briefly stopping to squeeze before moving down to her belly button. Brittany gasped at Santana's boldness and found the girl looking at her with innocence. This made Brittany's lips pull back in a smile. She was so cute.

Brittany looked down at her foamy front and seeing Santana's hands there, on her, made her stomach clench in the best way possible. Looking back up, Brittany caught Santana's eye and sucked in a shallow breath. Santana's wet hair clung around her face, droplets of water dripping off her long eye lashes, her eyes even darker than usual. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl Brittany had ever laid eyes upon. Brittany's hands scrubbed at Santana's arms for a few more seconds before moving to cup her breasts. Santana's eyes went wide and grew impossibly darker. Santana's hands copied Brittany's and they both stepped closed until the backs of their hands were almost touching.

Brittany started moulding her fingers around Santana's breasts while she leant down to kiss the girl's cheek. Santana dropped her eyes and smiled uncontrollably. She dropped one of her hands and started writing in the soapy foam on Brittany's stomach with her finger. Once she was done she stepped back and Brittany craned her neck to read it upside down.

A smile made its way to her face when she figured out it said 'I like you.'

Santana stepped forward and wrote something else and it took Brittany a second but when she saw that Santana had put a 'really' in front of 'like' her smile grew epic proportions.

"I really like you too." Brittany grinned and gently kissed the Latina, pulling her under the showerhead to wash away the suds all over their body. They didn't stop kissing until the water started running cold.

"Come here." Brittany said and held out a big fluffy blue towel for Santana to step into, wrapping the girl up in a hug when she'd done so.

Brittany left Santana to get changed and went to get changed herself, slipping into her favourite sweats and her biggest hoodie.

Brittany went and sat by Santana's door to wait for her. After a few minutes, Santana's door cracked open and she stepped out into the hallway, stopping when she saw Brittany waiting for her on the ground.

"Oh you're too cute." Santana giggled.

Brittany tried to roll her eyes but found that she ended up pouting instead.

Santana got down on her knees and held Brittany's face in her hands.

"You're even cuter when you pout like that."

"I'm not pouting."

"You are."

Brittany wanted to object but could only pout more.

Santana bit her lip as she looked at Brittany's, a low hum echoed out from her throat. Before she could even think of the consequences, she was kissing Brittany softly and gently. Kissing away that irresistible pout. Brittany's hands settled on Santana's hips but soon moved further round to where she could place a nice big double handed slap on her ass.

Santana's laughed bubbled up through her mouth into their kiss and Brittany couldn't think of anything warmer.

"Santana, Brittany! Mrs Shue and Emma are here." Rachel's loud voice carried up from downstairs. It seemed she had overcome her hang over.

"Why do you guys still call him Mr Shue? It's not like he's your high school teacher anymore." Brittany asked, looking up from beneath her eyelashes.

"But he was for such a long time and I guess old habits die hard."

"Should we go say hello?" Brittany prompted.

"Is it selfish that I want to stay here with you instead?"

"If it is, then I'm definitely selfish."

"Come on pouty," Santana smiled and helped Brittany to her feet. "Let us go forth into the world of small talk and weird age gaps."

"Emma isn't that bad." Brittany chuckled.

"Neither is Mr Shue, if you don't count his hair."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Artie, you're hitting that F in the second to last bar a little sharp." Will spoke in a moments break.

Brittany had met Will earlier and she actually really liked him. She thought he would make a fantastic dad one day. She could see why Emma seemed so smitten with him.

Artie huffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah."

"From the top."

"Do we have to, again?" Mercedes's asked.

"The gig tomorrow isn't some little kid's birthday party okay. There are important people there that we need to impress." Kurt snapped, reshaping his hair.

"I agree with Kurt. These people have serious money. If we smash it, they might pay more and that definitely fly's with me." Puck said as he tuned the bottom E on his guitar to perfection.

Brittany had been watching New Direction practicing for the last hour and she was dumbfounded. Her ears felt warm and cushy from the melodic notes that had been travelling blissfully through them. The talent of the group was almost too much. The way they worked around each other and for each other was endearing.

Santana was it. She was it. Brittany could see that she was what they had that was truly special. Without being bias, Santana was the soul of the group. She felt it all. The lyrics, the movement, the energy. It all flowed through her. Brittany couldn't take her eyes of the beautiful Latina. She was drawn to her, like some sort of invisible thread was attached to her. Brittany watched and watched and she couldn't get enough. When Santana had a solo, her whole body tingled.

When their practice was finally over and Will was happy with the arrangements, Santana made her way over to Brittany on the table. It turned out that the group also used the space that Brittany and Mike had used to practice in.

"What do you think?"

"Beautiful." Brittany smiled. Santana knew the weight Brittany carried with that word, and so it was enough. "I especially liked your solo bits."

"Thanks." Santana said rather shyly.

"Your voice_ is_ like sex on a stick." Brittany said quietly. "On maybe that's just…you."

Santana licked her lips and let a lopsided grin cover her face.

"And when you grin like that," Brittany said as she stood up, letting out a low whistle of appreciation as she passed Santana to help Emma with dinner in the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"MOVIE TIME!" Rachel shouted up the stairs.

Brittany and Santana looked at each other and shrugged. They had mostly spent the last two hours with each other talking and watching the sunset, it was probably best to make an appearance.

The girls made their way down to the second floor which held the movie room. It was basically a big room with a projector and lots of lazy boy recliners and a couple of couches, nothing overly amazing but enough that someone who had never seen it before could get pretty excited.

Brittany smiled when she entered the room behind Santana. The group had obviously spent some time preparing snacks because there was a mountain load. The girls had filled up the couches and most of the guys were lounging on recliners. Brittany scanned the room and found that there were no more seats left. When she looked for Santana she saw Puck pulling her down onto his lap. Brittany tensed and frowned. She didn't like Santana sitting on anyone like that. Anyone but her.

But when Santana rolled her eyes and punched Puck in the arm, Brittany relaxed a little. She was about to sit down when she felt hands at her waist and then she was being pulled effortlessly down onto a recliner. Onto someone's lap.

Brittany swivelled from her sitting position to find a big set of lips and more blonde hair.

"Hey." Sam grinned.

Brittany looked over at Santana in the recliner next to her who hadn't moved from her spot in Pucks lap. She figured she would stay where she was too. Sam and Brittany were bros after all.

"Hey, what're we watching?"

"Transformers." Sam said excitedly.

On cue Kurt started up the movie and the opening credits rolled. Brittany settled back into Sam and focused on the movie. His hands settled on the arm rests either side of her which she was thankful for. Brittany found it oddly comfortable sitting on Sam. His built chest provided nice cushioning and he was kind of like a big, blonde teddy bear. Brittany felt more protected in that moment than she had in a long time.

Brittany glanced over at Santana who was fit snuggly in with Puck. They had a blanket draped over them too. It was incredibly cute. Santana's head was facing her, only half angled towards the screen. The screen flashed, lighting up the big room and Brittany saw that Santana was actually looking at her and Sam, not the screen. An adorable smile was on her face.

Brittany mouthed 'what?' and Santana's smile grew. After a few seconds she shrugged and turned to face the screen. Upon feeling her movement, Puck settled his arms around her. If Brittany wasn't completely jealous of Puck in that moment she might have noticed the way Puck held her not in a sexual or suggestive way but a protective brace. Both Sam and Puck were the good sort, and both Santana and Brittany were lucky for that.

Brittany kept her head turned on Sam's chest and sighed deeply, feeling her eye lids getting droopy. Brittany watched Santana's face in the flickering screen light knowing that the room was much too dark for anyone else to notice. A couple of explosions happened in the movie and the light flickered for a second longer than usual, allowing Brittany to see Santana's face better just for a second. Santana's dark eyes reflected the light, giving them a twinkling effect. Brittany's stomach fluttered at the beauty of it and there was no way she could contain the urge to reach out and touch Santana. So she did.

Brittany stretched out her arm and thread her fingers through Santana's warm hand, letting her eyes drop closed as soon as she made contact. Honesty, Brittany couldn't care less in that moment if someone saw and thought something of it. All she wanted was to touch the beautiful girl that made her heart pound quicker than it ever had before.

Santana squeezed the hand in hers softly, smiling at the way Brittany's eyes had lazily closed in pure exhaustion as soon as she had Santana's hand. Santana rubbed her thumb over the back of Brittany's hand in a soothing motion and watched as Brittany unconsciously moved closer to her. Soon sleep was begging at Santana too and she slipped away holding Brittany's hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany was slowly being dragged back into consciousness by something warm. Something warm but slightly moist. Something sweet, warm and that smelled amazing. Humming in appreciation, Brittany licked her lips. The warmth stopped for a second, Brittany heard a sigh, and then the warmth returned.

Did she sigh? She was sure she didn't sigh. The warmth that had been covering her cheeks moved to the corner of her mouth and Brittany turned slightly. She wanted that warmth on her lips. When it hit there, her whole body broke through into consciousness in the most comfortable and pleasant way it had ever before.

"Hey." Santana whispered soothingly.

"Hey." Brittany smiled

Santana placed another kiss on her lips.

Brittany put the pieces back together in her head. Sam must have carried her to bed (slightly embarrassing considering she was a grown woman) and Santana had popped in for a visit at one in the morning, not that she was complaining.

"You were amazing today." Santana said simply.

"So were you. I couldn't keep my eyes off you." Brittany admitted.

"I can never keep my eyes off you."

Brittany scoffed. "Please, I think you need to start wearing a one piece instead of those bikinis or I'm going to self-destruct."

Santana laughed. "You really want me to start wearing a one piece?"

"No, please don't." Brittany laughed, she liked Santana in a bikini much too much.

"What about me? You think looking at you in a bikini doesn't make me-" Santana stopped when she realised what she said.

"Aw, shy Santana is cute." Brittany giggled. "Doesn't make you what?"

Santana blushed and looked away at Brittany's prompting.

"You know," Santana shrugged.

"You know there's a way to fix that right?"

Santana didn't answer so Brittany continued.

"As in an alternative to the real thing, if you're not ready."

"I know what you're saying Britt." Santana sighed and flung her forearm over her eyes, not believing where this conversation was headed.

"Hey, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you." Brittany said softly.

"No, it's not that. Well, I mean it's _that_ but-" Santana turned to face Brittany with a delicate smile. "What do you think about when you do_ that_?"

"Honestly?" Brittany asked, the tips of her ears going pink, not that Santana could tell in the dark lighting.

"Honestly."

"Truthfully?"

"Truthfully."

Brittany looked at Santana almost sceptically before a drawn out, "You," left her mouth. Brittany said it so slowly, gaging Santana's reaction with each letter.

Santana licked her lips. "Really?"

"I can't help it. I'm sorry if you think that's weird."

"I think it's kind of hot actually." Santana smirked.

"What about you?" Brittany matched her smirk.

Santana's smirk dropped all together.

Brittany watched as Santana tried to find her words.

"I…don't?" Santana drawled out just as slowly.

"What, like, ever?" Brittany asked, eye brows pinching together.

"It's not like I don't feel the need to, and I have I just don't feel much when I do." Santana looked down, embarrassed. "I know, I'm probably like, broken or something."

"You're not broken San, maybe you're just not thinking about the right things when you do it."

Santana shrugged.

"Maybe I can help you." Brittany said and Santana locked eyes with her.

"I don't want to push you into anything." Brittany raised her hands to emphasise. "But if you've been feeling even half of what I've been feeling lately then you've got to release some tension." Brittany ran her hand along Santana's stomach, feeling her muscles quiver.

Santana nodded slowly. "I'm not very…creative so I sometimes find it hard to picture stuff. But when I can see you, my body goes into over drive."

Brittany straddled Santana's waist and pushed the covers aside. "So let's have some fun with this then."

Santana gulped and nodded.

"You just relax." Brittany smiled warmly and Santana felt all her nerves wash away.

Brittany sucked on Santana's lips with skilful technique until Santana felt dizzy. Santana felt her insides going all kinds of crazy and her mind was so alert and clear, taking every touch and every detail of the blonde straddling her.

"You tell me if it's too much okay?" Brittany asked, waiting for a nod before kissing Santana softly.

"These pouty lips come in handy, no?" Brittany grinned.

Santana's heart rate picked up all she could do was run her hands up and down Brittany's stomach with an equally as big grin.

"Ready?" Brittany asked.

"Of course." Santana answered confidently although unsure what Brittany was asking.

The blonde grabbed a hold of the bed's headboard either side of Santana's head and forcefully ground down her hips onto Santana's. All the kissing had got Santana quite wound up and so she was pretty sensitive in that area already. A low moan escaped on its own accord.

Santana placed her hands on Brittany's hips and slipped them under the waistband of her shorts. Brittany pushed down again and this time Santana was ready, pushing up on and angle the she knew would affect Brittany too. This time both girls moaned.

Brittany held on to the headboard and started a slow rocking motion, rolling her hips and making satisfying contact with Santana's most sensitive area. Brittany could see she was getting worked up by the way she was breathing and the little "Oh's" that were puffing out from her mouth very often.

Brittany was getting mega worked up too, but she had to remember that this was about Santana. Brittany stripped off her shirt so just a navy blue bra was covering her torso and Santana wasted no time in roaming her hands over milky skin.

"Now," Brittany mumbled as she gently lifted her hips, not missing the quiet moan of protest. Hoping to not freak her out, Brittany took Santana's hand in hers and guided it between them. "You want to try?" Brittany was panting just like Santana so it can out a little rougher than she expected.

Santana looked hesitant but nodded. Brittany lifted Santana's shorts and held contact as she slid her and Santana's hand inside. Making sure Santana's was in a comfortable position; Brittany pulled her hand out and settled her hips back into Santana's.

Brittany couldn't force from her mind how warm in had been in Santana's shorts. The urge to touch almost overcame her. Almost.

"Now, move your hand with me." Brittany said as she started the rocking motion back up again. Santana's eyes went wide and grew darker as her own hand slipped against her. She kept her eye's on Brittany and focused on the fact that she was rubbing against the back of her hand, only a few skimpy layers of cotton separating them.

Santana couldn't lie that it felt good. Really good. She wondered how it would feel to have Brittany's hand in her shorts like this. She picked up her pace at the thought. Brittany's face was full on concentration as she watched Santana for signs of a climax.

Brittany picked up Santana's free hand and guided it towards her crotch. Brittany stopped the rocking motion to slip Santana's hand inside her own shorts, above her underwear. Brittany moved Santana's hand to cup her centre and held it there.

Santana's heart started beating at the most rapid pace she could ever remember. Her hand was cupping Brittany _down there_ and it was so exhilarating. Santana could feel that she was wet and just the thought of that had Santana throwing her head back and biting her lip in pleasure. Santana pushed herself over the edge and Brittany watched with pleasure.

Brittany brought her back down with a few comfortable rolls of the hips and kisses. Santana stoked her hand along Brittany to which the blonde barely supressed a moan before pulling out her hand completely.

Brittany took a few seconds to compose herself. "Okay?"

Santana sighed and kissed the blonde. "Yes, thank you."

"Anytime."

"Do you need-" Santana started, looking at Brittany pointedly.

"I'll be fine. Just wear that white bikini tomorrow and we're even."

Santana smiled and faced Brittany, her breath still ragged.

"That was really unusual." Santana laughed.

"I thought it was hot." Brittany laughed and kissed Santana's nose.

After a good few minutes of comfortable silence, Santana spoke up.

"I think I'm ready, you know, for the real thing."

"You needed to do _that_, find that out?" Brittany giggled.

Santana shrugged. "I guess I really had no idea how the whole girl sex thing worked. I mean, if I couldn't do it to myself properly, how was I supposed to do it to you? And well."

"You don't have to be able to do it well, I-"

"Nope, I'm gonna be a frikin' sex tornado." Santana grinned, a sudden confidence springing from nowhere.

"Sex tornado?"

"Yes ma'am. If you ever get me a hoodie, be sure to have that printed on the back."

Brittany laughed and moved closer.

"But it's all about your partner. Hopefully I can make you feel half as good as you made me feel just then." Santana smiled.

"You made yourself feel that, not me."

"No, it was all you. That's the point. The only reason I could do that to myself was because of how you make me feel. I just hope, you can feel that too."

Brittany kissed Santana again, "Trust me, I feel it."

Santana snuggled into Brittany's side and let her eye close peacefully.

"Night San."

"Goodnight baby."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**I AM SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY! I am not giving up on this story a promise you. Thank you so much for believing in this story, I can't tell you how much it means. Special thanks to people who have followed this since chapter 1.**

**I thought because of the delay I would give you lots of Brittana, intimate Brittana, singing Santana and dancing Brittany! Are we good now?**

**Xoxo, soccer girl.**

**P.S- How about those Olympics aye. USWNT for life! **


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